Denver Broncos rumors: Mike Munchak emerging as HC favorite

The Denver Broncos rumor mill is swirling and right now, it sounds like Pittsburgh Steelers OL coach Mike Munchak is the favorite for the HC position.

The Denver Broncos have one more interview for their head coaching position after a busy week last week interviewing Chuck Pagano, Zac Taylor, Mike Munchak, and Brian Flores.

That interview is with Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, whose team just lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs.

Fangio’s defense managed to win the turnover battle in the loss (they were +2) and became just the fifth team in the last 40 years to win the turnover battle by +2 and lose the game at home.

Though the Bears’ defense gave up a touchdown at the end of the game and forced the offense to go and win it, it was Chicago’s offense that failed to make plays throughout the course of the game, not the defense.

Fangio’s defense with Chicago was the top-ranked defense all year and the opportunity to translate that kind of success to Denver is very enticing for fans.

As it turns out, if the Broncos do want Fangio as their next head coach, they will have no competition for his services. The Miami Dolphins were the only other team slated to interview Fangio on Monday, and they have canceled that meeting.

It doesn’t seem likely Fangio is going to get the Broncos’ job at this point, but things can certainly change over the course of the next 24 hours.

Right now, it seems like Mike Munchak is the favorite to get the job.

Munchak is certainly a candidate fitting many of John Elway’s preferred qualifications. He has a specific area of expertise as one of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL. The work he did with the Titans’ offensive line and what he’s done with the Steelers’ offensive line is amazing.

Munchak has a ton of experience, which Elway also coveted. Not only does he have decades of experience as an offensive line coach, but he was also selected to be the head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2011.

He and the Titans narrowly missed out on signing Peyton Manning back in 2012.

Munchak is a strong candidate as a head coach but will have to be surrounded by equally strong coordinators. He doesn’t have experience as a play caller offensively.

Because of that, the Broncos could potentially lure Zac Taylor away from the Los Angeles Rams to be their play caller of the future. Taylor and the Rams are now preparing for a playoff matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, so he won’t be able to be hired until after the Rams’ playoff run is finished.

With that said, hiring Munchak and Taylor seems to be a likely direction the Broncos are heading unless Gary Kubiak is hellbent on being the offensive coordinator.

If Kubiak is willing to take a different role within the offense as a coach, that may be ideal for the Broncos. He could help bring along Taylor who would be a first-time play-caller on a full-time basis.

Who would Munchak hire as defensive coordinator? That’s another talking point entirely. There are a number of interesting candidates available, but perhaps none more notable than Todd Bowles who was most recently the head coach of the New York Jets.

Bowles doesn’t necessarily have ties to the Broncos or Munchak, but he did a great job as Arizona’s defensive coordinator before he was hired by the Jets and New York’s defense was also clearly on the rise.

At any rate, the Broncos’ head coaching search won’t last much longer and it seems like Munchak is the name to watch for.