Mike Munchak won’t be the Denver Broncos head coach, but the team is trying to get him onboard to be the offensive line coach.
The Denver Broncos head coaching vacancy came down to two candidates: Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak. It turns out both could be on the staff anyway.
Denver’s plan reportedly is to hire Munchak to become the team’s offensive line coach. He held that position with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2014 to 2018.
As is the case with most head coaching changes, teams that do not do well during the previous season often let their coaches seek out new jobs in different cities. That is what happened with Sean Kugler, who went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Chris Strausser is still on the staff. Strausser was in charge of coaching the tackles last season.
It remains to be seen whether Strausser stays and has a new role with the Broncos or if he is free to move on. I think that Munchak will want to have all the power in terms of offensive line decisions.
With the Steelers in 2018, Munchak’s offensive line gave up just 24 sacks in 16 games. In comparison, the Broncos gave up 34.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Munchak is a Hall of Fame offensive lineman, so it’s safe to assume that he could help left tackle Garett Bolles perfect the right technique so he would stop committing so many holding penalties week in and week out.
Denver will hopefully have center Matt Paradis back next season. Paradis broke his fibula late last season and is currently heading into free agency.
Re-signing Paradis will be a top priority for the Denver Broncos. Keeping Paradis on the team will be important, as the center position calls out protections pre-snap. It would be great to have continuity at that spot on the offensive line.
The Broncos’ offensive line was very spotty last season and it will be interesting to see, if the team hires Munchak, how much they are able to improve.