Broncos hire head coach candidate to take over the offensive line

After interviewing five candidates to fill the head coaching job vacated by Vance Joseph, John narrowed his search to two names last Tuesday.

Now, both will be part of the Broncos’ coaching staff.

The Broncos hired Mike Munchak as their new offensive line coach on Monday, the team announced. Munchak interviewed for the Broncos’ head coaching job last week, but the team chose former Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio instead. Munchak was previously the Steelers’ offensive line coach but made a lateral move to Denver after his contract ran out, partly because of family ties in Colorado.

In Pittsburgh, Munchak built one of the strongest rushing attacks in the league. His zone run concepts sprung Le’Veon Bell, and later James Conner, into the top ranks of NFL runners.

As a player, Munchak was selected 8th overall out of Penn State in 1982. He played 12 seasons for the Oilers and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001. When he retired, he immediately re-signed with the Oilers as a coach and spent 20 years coaching in the Oilers/Titans organization. He served as head coach of the Titans for three seasons, from 2011-2013, and compiled a 22-26 record before taking the offensive line job in Pittsburgh.

The Broncos employed two offensive line coaches in 2018 and one of them, Sean Kugler, left Denver to coach the Cardinals’ line in 2019, Sunday. Their other offensive line coach, Chris Strausser, is reportedly a target of the Cleveland Browns.