Mike Munchak on leaving Steelers: ‘Timing is such a big part'

Mike Munchak was formally introduced Thursday in Denver as the Broncos new offensive line coach. He spoke with media about his lateral move in taking the same job he had with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“It was kind of just the way things worked out,” Munchak said, according to a transcript provided by the Broncos. “My contract was up as an offensive line coach with the Steelers. The timing — in this business, timing is such a big part of being available when a job is available. Obviously, after I was moving forward, I was doing my contract with the Steelers and this opportunity came up a couple of days later.”

Munchak was with the Steelers for five seasons, four of which they made the playoffs. Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Alejandro Villanueva were all Pro Bowl offensive linemen under his stewardship.

A Scranton native who was an All-American at Penn State, Munchak was a Hall of Fame guard for the Houston Oilers from 1982-93. He then coached for that franchise (later, the Tennessee Titans) for more than two decades until he was fired after three seasons as their head coach in 2013.

Munchak interviewed for the Broncos’ head coach job earlier this month but was passed over for Vic Fangio. Fangio then offered Munchak a job on his staff.

“I was talking with (president of football operations John Elway) and Vic about the opportunity, and then I thought about it for a weekend and I just realized — I think from my visit here it helped me a lot,” Munchak said. “I spent time with John and seeing this place and seeing what they’ve been accomplishing — I’ve always known from a distance, but being in there and seeing what it was like, I was very impressed with everything I saw, the attitude and the culture they were creating here. I knew that was a big plus. And then obviously having family here was a big plus, so it made the decision easy.”

Munchak’s daughter lives in Denver with her husband and Munchak’s grandchild, something that factored heavily into Munchak’s decision to head west.

“I’ve been with one organization for over 30 years with Tennessee and Houston,” Munchak said. “My wife and I at that point when we were leaving Nashville, we always thought that family would be a big part of the decision going forward. We ended up going to the Steelers, which got me in the right state. I grew up in Pennsylvania and went to Penn State, so it was nice to get back. I also wanted to be with a great organization, which we were there.

“Going forward, we thought the same thing. I came here for the interview and I thought that went well. … I know the Broncos are always a great organization. … Obviously, then I got to go to the same city as family, so it was like a double plus for me. An opportunity for me to be with family, but also to be a part of a great organization that wants to win, has won three Super Bowls and is working hard to win more.”

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Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at cadamski@tribweb.com or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.