The Pittsburgh Steelers lost the best offensive line coach in the NFL back in 2018 when Mike Munchak left for Denver. At the time the Steelers were knee deep in drama surrounding Antonio Brown's departure, and many believed Munchak left because of all the drama surrounding the team.
Sources: Mike Munchak unlikely to return as Broncos OL coach. He has opportunities elsewhere and there's slight opportunity he returns back with Broncos. But new head coach Nathaniel Hackett looking at other OL coaches with more experience in his system. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) February 1, 2022
The truth of the matter was that Munchak took a lateral move to be closer to family. His daughter and grandchildren lived in the Denver area.
“As my career shows, when I get somewhere, I stay there,’’ Munchak said during an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in January 2019. “When this opportunity came up to work in a city with my daughter, her husband, my granddaughter and my other daughter not far away in L.A., that’s what we wanted.
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Munchak now 62 could be on the move again. The Broncos fired head coach Vic Fangio, and have hired Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to replace him. Generally when a new head coach is hired they bring in their own people as assistant coaches. There is always some exceptions to the rules and Munchak could very well be one of those exceptions this time. He's regarded as one of the top offensive line coaches in the league, but run style philosophies could be the reason they move on from him.
Sounds like Luke Getsy will be promoted to #Packers OC. Also sounds like Mike Munchak could be on the outs with the #Broncos. https://t.co/no2sgBwlg2
— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) January 27, 2022
Munchak expressed how much he enjoyed his time in Pittsburgh on his way out of town.
“It was a very, very hard decision because I love it here, I love the Rooneys, the way they run the organization,’’ he said. “Coach Tomlin has been awesome, I love working for him. I could see myself working for him until I retired. The offensive linemen are special. It was really a great thing."
Prying him away from family could be hard, but finishing out his career in Pittsburgh could be the most attractive option for him. He could also choose to retire if he wants.
The Steelers allowed offensive line coach Adrian Klemm to leave for a new job at Oregon before the regular season was even over. They fired Munchak's replacement Shaun Sarrett after the 2020 season.
The Steelers named assistant offensive line coach Chris Morgan the interim line coach to finish out the season. There has been no talk of interviews for that position yet. Hopefully they're waiting on a decision with Munchak in Denver.
