Titans reportedly want to interview Bears' Tice for OC job

New Tennessee Titans coach Mike Munchak would like to interview Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice for his vacant offensive coordinator job, the *Chicago Tribune* reported Sunday, citing a league source.

Munchak didn't mention Tice, but he told the *Tennessean* on Saturday night that he'd like his staff in place before the NFL Scouting Combine starts Feb. 23.

"Once a coordinator falls into place here, the same thing will happen with the spots left (on the offensive staff)," Munchak said after hiring defensive coordinator Jerry Gray.

Tice, who was the Minnesota Vikings' head coach from 2001 to 2005, is widely credited with helping resurrect a suspect Bears offensive line on the way to Chicago winning the NFC North Division title and advancing to the NFC Championship Game.

Tice has one year remaining on his contract, and it's unclear if the Bears will grant permission for him to interview with the Titans, even though the offensive coordinator job would be a promotion.

The Titans were rebuffed by the New York Jets last week in their pursuit of Jets assistant head coach-offensive line coach Bill Callahan, ESPN reported.

"The last four or five days, I've realized how hard (putting a staff together is)," Munchak told the Tennessean. "There are a lot of good coaches out there, but unfortunately you can’t talk to all of them because they’re under contract.

"You want to get it done, but you don't want to make any bad decisions because you're in a hurry. That's what we're trying to avoid is getting too worried about getting it done."

The Tribune asserted that the Bears could offer Tice an assistant head coach position to keep him.

Bears general manger Jerry Angelo has called Tice one of the league's best line coaches. Should Tice be allowed to interview in Tennessee and subsequently leave, the Bears would scramble to replace him because most teams already have hired their staffs for 2011.