Report: Mike Munchak is unlikely to return as Broncos offensive line coach

Looks like Nathaniel Hackett will be finding a new offensive line coach.

According to 9News Denver’s Mike Klis, the Denver Broncos are unlikely to bring back offensive line coach Mike Munchak.

Munchak, who’s in the Hall Of Fame and is considered one of the best offensive line coaches in the game. So his absence could potentially hurt the progression of the Broncos offensive line moving forward.

As we know, Munchak was behind the improvement of Garett Bolles in 2020 which led to Bolles getting a big multi-year contract by the Broncos. However, he did have a much more average 2021 season, but his impact was shown there.

While losing a coach the caliber of Munchak is never a good thing, the Broncos’ offensive line never really excelled like we would have hoped during his tenure. So, we are really going to see what kind of impact he had on the unit now that he’s potentially gone.

No names have been speculated as replacements as of yet, but with the emphasis being on a zone-blocking scheme, I suspect we’ll see someone who is familiar in teaching that system

Update

9News Denver’s Mike Klis has given a reason why Munchak won’t be back and has also mentioned some names the team is interested in bringing in to replace him

Chris Kuper, a former Broncos player who specialized in zone-blocking and has been the assistant offensive line coach under Munchak could be an in-house option to replace him. However, according to Klis, the Broncos plan on interviewing San Fransisco 49ers assistant offensive line coach Butch Barry for their offensive line coach as well.

Hackett is bringing back the traditional west coast offense to the Broncos and bringing in a coach from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree to teach that seems like a good idea. Interest in Klint Kubiak who also knows the west coast offense rather well gives us an idea of the type of coach Hackett is looking for

This switch to a west coast offense is the reason why the Broncos plan on moving on from Munchak according to Klis. He’s known for his gap/man-to-man blocking schemes.