NFL coaching carousel: The 5 best hires of the offseason
By Erik Lambert
The NFL coaching carousel has already produced a number of shockers in terms of who teams have hired over the past week.
Plenty of them come with an element of unknown. Mostly because the coaches themselves are so unproven. Kliff Kingsburgh in Arizona. Matt Lafleur in Green Bay. The list is rather long for 2019 compared to other years. That said, there’s also been a number of moves by teams that immediately stand out as likely successes from the outset.
Time, of course, will tell the full story, but here is a quick breakdown of the five moves made so far this offseason that will likely be the most productive among coaching hires.
Mike Munchak as Denver Broncos offensive line coach
Hats off to John Elway. He knew upgrades to the coaching staff were needed after two miserable seasons for the Broncos and he came out with not one but two big additions. Vic Fangio will take over command and control of the team but primarily run the defense. That should make things much better with the talent they have. However, the bigger coup was being able to lure Mike Munchak away from the AFC rival Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hailed as one of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL, Munchak was a critical factor in helping the Steelers offense continuously produce both on the ground and through the air despite ongoing changes to their personnel. His efforts helped the team to move on from Le’Veon Bell and continues to extend the career of Ben Roethlisberger. Now he’ll inherit a fairly talented group in Denver and potentially do even more for Pro Bowl running back Phillip Lindsay.