How John Elway could impact the future of the Steelers

The future of the Steelers coaching staff may be in the hands of John Elway.

The Broncos president reportedly is down to two candidates to replace Vance Joseph as head coach. That's according to 9News in Denver.

It'll either be Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio or Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak.

I know who I am rooting for.

It'd been downright tragic if the Steelers lost Munchak. There's the obvious reason why. He's been a phenomenal offensive line coach.

Sure, Maurkice Pouncey was a stud before Munchak got here. Beyond that though, Munchak helped David DeCastro reach his full potential, he honed Marcus Gilbert's ability and he molded undrafted free agents Alejandro Villanueva, Ramon Foster, Matt Feiler and B.J. Finney into very good players.

As if his success with this unit isn't enough, I hope Munchak stays in Pittsburgh because he'd be the logical choice to be the next Steelers head coach if Art Rooney II decides to remove Mike Tomlin after 2019.

Heck, that'd be the smart move this year.

All of the arguments in favor of retaining Tomlin begin with what he has done so far. None of them forecast what he may do in the future.

Like, ever winning a Super Bowl again.

Six of eight seasons without a playoff win since 2010 suggest that probably won't happen again. And the franchise quarterback will be 37 by the time the 2019 season starts.

All of the arguments in favor of retaining Tomlin end with, "Well, who else are you going to get?"

If the Steelers can't move Antonio Brown, keeping Tomlin as his boss will be a disaster thanks to the outright insubordination Brown showed this year.

Opponents contend replacing Tomlin with a young, first-time coach like he was — or Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll were for that matter — could be even worse.

I'll grant that fear is valid. Such a move would also be dangerous when it comes managing Ben Roethlisberger. Ask Todd Haley or Ken Whisenhunt how taxing it can be to coach the quarterback.

Enter Munchak. The dude with the Hall of Fame jacket as a player. The guy with the respect of the other 10 players on offense, regardless of whether A.B. has any for him.

Munchak's offensive linemen swear by him. Roethlisberger was singing his praises at the end of season. The running backs rave about him. Even Le'Veon Bell gushed about him when Munchak's name came up as a coaching candidate elsewhere before the end of last year.

Until recently, I've never been a "fire Tomlin, hire Munch" supporter. It seems like such low-hanging fruit. Also, his 22-26 record as the bench boss in Tennessee was lackluster.

Given Roethlisberger's age and the combustibility of this locker room, though, retaining Munchak as a potential Tomlin replacement makes sense.

Installing Munchak on the Steelers' sideline would bring the rare opportunity for needed change and accountability combined with the continuity craved by the veterans on the team. He is likely the only guy who could represent both.

It's not going to happen. The Steelers don't think that way. It's going to take at least one more disastrous Steelers campaign before Rooney ever considers ousting Tomlin.

But I'd rather Rooney have that option at his disposal than see Munchak wearing orange in Colorado.

So, good luck, Vic. Hope it works out for you.