With Aaron Rodgers playing the quarterback position the likes of which we may never have seen before, it stands to reason that his position coach, Tom Clements, will likely be a hot commodity during the 2011 edition of the coaching carousel both at the NFL and collegiate levels.
The Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach has reportedly taken steps to ensure he will be a hot commodity, at least as it concerns one job.
Citing unnamed sources, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Clements has applied for the vacancy at Penn State. Clements sent his résumé to the six-member search committee, which was officially announced last week and charged with finding a permanent replacement for Joe Paterno.
Clements is a western Pennsylvania native whose coaching career has been spent mostly at the professional level. As noted by the Tribune-Review, Clements in 2004 was a candidate for the vacancy at Notre Dame, his alma mater and where he spent four seasons as the QBs coach in the mid-90s.
Former PSU wide receiver Kenny Jackson, who was on the same Pittsburgh Steelers staff as Clements early last decade, raved about the type of coach Clements is and vouched for his ability to take over a Nittany Lions football program rocked by the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal.
“I’ve been fortunate to play for a lot of good coaches and work with a lot of good coaches, and I know this guy can coach,” Jackson told the paper.
“I coached receivers (with the Steelers), and he was the quarterbacks coach and he made people better. You can see what he’s done with Rodgers. I’ve watched how players respected him, watched how they interacted with Tommy, how calm and organized he was. I have the feeling he’s gonna be a great head coach in the right situation.”
The paper also notes that interim head coach Tom Bradley and quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno have either received or will receive courtesy interviews for the job, although neither are viewed as serious candidates for the opening.
In other Penn State coaching search news, Tony Dungy said recently that while he’s flattered, he has no interest in the Nittany Lions job. The former Indianapolis Colts head coach and current NBC NFL analyst had been mentioned as one of those “fling it against the wall and see if it sticks” candidates, although it was never a realistic possibility.