Mike Munchak Early Favorite For HC; Broncos Want Gary Kubiak As OC
Mike Munchak is once again a popular head coaching candidate, with at least four teams interested in his services. But we heard last night that Munchak has strong interest in the Broncos‘ opening, and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link) reports that Munchak has emerged as the early favorite for that position. Helping the Broncos’ cause is the fact that Munchak has family, including a granddaughter, in the Denver area.
- The Broncos are blocking other teams from interviewing senior personnel adviser Gary Kubiak for offensive coordinator jobs, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Kubiak wants to remain in Denver anyway, but he has expressed interest in returning to the sidelines as an OC, and the Broncos would like him to serve in that role under whomever they hire as their next head coach (assuming that person is comfortable with such an arrangement). The Bengals and Falcons had requested interviews.
Munchak Interested In Broncos
- Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak has “strong interest” in the Broncos’ opening, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN. Schefter notes that Munchak has “professional and personal ties to Denver” and that he shares an agent with Broncos GM John Elway. Munchak, who turned down a head coaching job last year according to Schefter, was the Titans’ head coach for three years before being fired and landing in Pittsburgh. Schefter writes that Munchak has been very reluctant to leave “because of his feelings for the Steelers”, but it sounds like the Broncos will be able to pull him away if they want to.
Latest On Broncos Ownership
- Two of Sean McVay‘s top assistants will take their interviews with the Bengals on Friday. Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor and pass game coordinator/tight ends coach Shane Waldron will meet with Cincinnati ownership tomorrow, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. Nearly every candidate in which the Bengals have expressed interest thus far have come from the offensive side of the ball, with the only exception being former Broncos head coach (and ex-Cincy defensive backs coach) Vance Joseph. The Bengals were turned down by Josh McDaniels, but they’ve also asked to meet with Bucs OC Todd Monken and Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, among others. Bieniemy’s interview with the Bengals — originally scheduled for Friday — will now take place on Saturday, tweets Pelissero.
- Currently being run by a trust headed by team president Joe Ellis, the Broncos are in need of a permanent owner. That’s likely to eventually be Pat Bowlen‘s youngest daughter, Brittany Bowlen, tweets James Palmer of ESPN.com, who notes Brittany will join the organization “at some point.” Bowlen, 28, could potentially take over in 2021 after a new collective bargaining agreement is put into place, speculates Mike Klis of 9News.
Broncos To Interview Brian Flores
- Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores has a busy week lined up, as he’s drawn interest from not only the Broncos, Browns, Dolphins, and Packers. It’s still unclear if/when Flores will interview with Cleveland, but he’ll meet with Green Bay on Friday, tweets Demovsky. Packers management is scheduled to fly to the New England area that day to sit down with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, so they’ll stick around to meet with Flores. Flores is also scheduled to interview for the Miami gig on Thursday and Friday, while Mike Klis of 9News reports (via Twitter) the Broncos will fly to New England to sit down with Flores on Saturday (previous reports had indicated Denver would meet with Flores on Monday).
Zac Taylor Not Favorite For Denver Job?
- Brian Flores is set to meet with four teams in the coming days, and the Patriots linebackers coach’s first stop appears to be Miami. The Dolphins are making Flores their first interview, which Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets will begin Thursday night and last into Friday. Flores is slated to meet with the Browns, Broncos and Packers as well.
- Another coach up for the Broncos‘ job, Zac Taylor is not the favorite going into the interview process, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. That could be expected of a 35-year-old position coach, and it could indicate the Broncos are serious about bringing Gary Kubiak back to the sideline as their OC. John Elway said a coaching role for Kubiak was being considered. A Taylor hire would seemingly impede this, but former Broncos running back C.J. Anderson said the similarities between the Rams’ offense and Kubiak’s Denver attack helped him assimilate quickly in Los Angeles. Mike Klis of 9News wonders if this could make a Taylor-Kubiak setup possible, with Klint Kubiak moving up to quarterbacks coach.
- Flores’ Broncos interview will occur Monday. So will Vic Fangio‘s, per ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold. Taylor and Mike Munchak will interview for the job on Friday. The Broncos finished their Chuck Pagano meeting Wednesday.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/2/19
Here are Wednesday’s reserve/futures contract moves:
Cleveland Browns
- DL Daniel Ekuale
- DL Devaroe Lawrence
- OL Kyle Friend
- DB Robert Jackson
- RB Devante Mays
- DB Lenzy Pipkins
- DB Tigie Sankoh*
- OL Brad Seaton
- WR Daniel Williams
Cincinnati Bengals
- DT Andrew Brown
Denver Broncos
- WR Fred Brown
- QB Garrett Grayson
- WR Chad Hansen
- LB Alexander Johnson
- OL Andreas Knappe
- DE Cashaud Lyons
- RB Khalfani Muhammad
- G Austin Schlottmann
- CB Linden Stephens
- S Shamarko Thomas
Detroit Lions
Minnesota Vikings
- WR Jeff Badet
- T Adam Bisnowaty
- LB Reshard Cliett
- DT Curtis Cothran
- C Cornelius Edison
- TE Cole Hikutini
- CB Jalen Myrick
- T Storm Norton
- DE Ifeadi Odenigbo
- RB Roc Thomas
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- QB Joe Callahan
- P Hayden Hunt
- LS Zach Triner
Tennessee Titans
- DL Dee Liner
Washington Redskins
- WR Tre McBride
* = part of the NFL’s International Player Development Program
Broncos To Interview Chuck Pagano
The Broncos are expected to interview former Colts coach Chuck Pagano on Wednesday for their head coaching position and the interview could also stretch into Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Pagano has been rumored to be on the Broncos’ radar for some time and he’ll get an early opportunity to make his case. 
In June, Pagano, 58, told reporters that he was hoping to return to the sidelines soon after being fired from Indianapolis following a 4-12 season in 2017.
“I’ve got a couple years left in me,” Pagano said. “I’ve got unfinished business. I’d love to have another opportunity, I just love being around the guys, being on grass and competing.”
In his first three seasons with the Colts, Pagano led his squad to back-to-back-to-back 11-5 seasons in Andrew Luck’s first years in the league. He then authored consecutive 8-8 campaigns before finishing 4-12 while Luck missed the entire season with an injury. All in all, Pagano owns a career 53-43 regular season record as an NFL head coach. Before the Luck-less ’17 season, Pagano was 49-31 over five years.
Broncos Pondering Kubiak Coaching Role
- Gary Kubiak may well be returning to the sideline, in a non-HC capacity. Kubiak stepped down from his role as the Broncos‘ head coach after the 2016 season, citing health concerns, but John Elway said his longtime friend may end up as part of Denver’s 2019 offensive staff. “We’ll see. We’re still in that process,” Elway said. “We still have a lot of things to go over before that, but I think it could be where it is, it could be on the offensive side [as a coach]. We’ll see what that role may be, but Gary will be around.” Kubiak has worked in the Broncos’ front office the past two years. Denver is expected to interview Vic Fangio, Flores and Chuck Pagano (while also set to meet with Rams QBs coach Zac Taylor and Steelers OL coach Mike Munchak). Going defense for a second straight hire would point to Kubiak being in line to take over as offensive coordinator.
Brian Flores To Meet With Browns, Broncos, Dolphins, Packers
The latest Patriots playoff bye week will bring quite the workload for linebackers coach Brian Flores.
While he is still arranging his schedule, he has agreed to meet with the Browns, Broncos, Dolphins and Packers about their head coaching vacancies, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports (on Twitter). These interviews will occur this weekend.
After previously omitting the Broncos, who requested a meeting with Flores, La Canfora reports they will meet with the aspiring head coach. The Bucs, though, are not set to meet with the Patriot assistant this week, JLC tweets.
These four teams requested summits with Flores, and he will oblige. Flores has become a far more attractive candidate than he was a year ago, when the Cardinals met with him about their HC opening. Arizona again has an opening, but the team has not as of yet requested another audience with New England’s 37-year-old de facto defensive coordinator.
The Patriots turned to Flores as their top defensive assistant following Matt Patricia‘s defection to Detroit.
New England’s first post-Patricia defense has been the team’s typical bend-but-don’t-break unit, ranking 21st in yards allowed but seventh in scoring. The Pats have only had one non-top-10 scoring defense in the past 13 seasons; Flores has been a part of their past eight defensive coaching staffs.
Cards, Broncos To Interview Zac Taylor
Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor will interview for the Cardinals and Broncos head coaching positions on Saturday, Albert Breer of The MMQB hears (on Twitter). Taylor, 35, will also interview with the Bengals on Friday, so he may wind up as the latest 30-something assistant to ascend the ranks. 
Taylor moved up to QB coach under Sean McVay in 2018 after Matt LaFleur left for the Titans. The results, for the most part, have been outstanding. The Rams finished out 13-3 and will have an opportunity to rest before their first playoff game on Jan. 12 thanks to their bye.
Outside of the past year with the Rams, Taylor’s resume is not especially flashy. He was the Rams’ assistant wide receivers coach in 2017 and served as the University of Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator in 2016 before moving to sunny Los Angeles. However, young offensively-minded coaches are the in-thing, and Taylor is garnering serious interest.