Source: Titans interested in hiring Gregg Williams

Gregg Williams must be reinstated by the NFL before he can be hired by any team.

Gerald Herbert/AP

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Titans have talked with suspended defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and are interested in hiring him, said a person familiar with the situation.

The person said Sunday that Titans coach Mike Munchak has talked with Williams about a position on his staff. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Titans do not discuss personnel moves until they are finalized.

Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Williams indefinitely for his role in the New Orleans Saints bounty program. Williams must be reinstated by the NFL before he can be hired by any team. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Sunday that the league has not yet addressed Williams potential reinstatement.

Munchak did not immediately answer a message left by the AP on Sunday. The Titans coach has not talked with the media about his team since the day after the season ended.

Williams was the Saints defensive coordinator from 2009-11 and was hired by St. Louis last season before his suspension by former Titans coach Jeff Fisher. Williams' son, Blake, also was the Rams' linebacker coach but his contract was not renewed earlier this month.

Munchak has known Williams since 1990. Munchak was playing for the then-Houston Oilers when Williams became an assistant coach with the team. They also coached together with the Oilers; Munchak oversaw the offensive line starting in 1994 and Williams rose from defensive assistant to coaching special teams, then linebackers and finally defensive coordinator.

Williams left the Titans to become head coach of the Buffalo Bills in 2001 before becoming defensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins from 2004-07. Williams also was defensive coordinator in Jacksonville in 2008 before being hired by the Saints in 2009.

Munchak already has Jerry Gray as his defensive coordinator, who left the Titans with Williams and served as Williams' defensive coordinator in Buffalo. But Munchak will be coaching for his job in 2013 after going 6-10 in his second season as head coach, and Tennessee's defense needs help after setting a franchise record for allowing 471 points in 2012.