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Steelers News: Mike Munchak now considered the front-runner for Broncos’ coaching job

Time to check on the latest news surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers.

NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ season is over, but if you think the news surrounding the black-and-gold is over — think again. For the drama-filled Steelers, things are just heating up, and this is where the daily links article comes in. You might have missed some key news, and we fill you in and give you the latest, and sometimes greatest, news surrounding the Steelers.

Today in the Black-and-gold links article we take a look at some news no Steelers fan wants to see, and that would be how Mike Munchak is now considered by many to be the front-runner to be the next head coach of the Denver Broncos.

Hold out hope for Munchak to stay...but it isn’t looking good.

Let’s get to the news:

Steelers’ Mike Munchak reportedly the frontrunner for Broncos job

By: Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak had his interview for the Broncos head coaching job on Friday, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport says us that Munchak is the frontrunner for the spot.

Munchak has a daughter and granddaughter in Colorado. He also has the same agent as John Elway. Rapoport said in his report that Munchak is staying in Denver until a decision is made.

The team is still planning to interview Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

John Steigerwald: Time for Mike Tomlin to walk away as Steelers coach

By: John Steigerwald, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

You’d have to be pretty old or dead to remember the last time the Steelers fired a head coach.

Everybody knows the Steelers like to hold on to their head coaches, and they’ve only had three in the last 50 years, but what’s even more amazing is they haven’t fired a coach in 50 years.

Bill Austin was the last guy to get the Steelers’ axe. It was December 1968, and he had just finished his third season. He had been an assistant with the Green Bay Packers and had come highly recommended by Vince Lombardi. A perfect hire. Austin’s record was 11-28-1.

The third coach since Austin, Mike Tomlin, isn’t going to be fired any time soon, even though lots of people in these parts, including a growing number in the media, think he should.

The two who preceded Tomlin knew when to walk away: Chuck Noll after 23 years and Bill Cowher after 15.

Dan Rooney was never going to fire the guy he hired, who was also his friend, and had overseen the greatest turnaround in American sports history. Noll did him a favor by realizing he was at the end. He probably stayed two or three years too long, but it was definitely time for him to go in 1991.

Cowher was one year removed from winning a Super Bowl and had just finished 8-8. He might not have been on top when he went out after 15 years, but he was close.

Now it’s time for Tomlin to walk away. He should do himself and his boss, Art Rooney II, a favor. There are eight openings for coaches in the NFL, and Tomlin probably would have his choice from multiple offers within 20 minutes of his resignation.

He’s a good coach.

You can’t fire a guy who’s 1-1 in the Super Bowl and never has had a losing season. But Tomlin should see he has peaked at his current location, and the smart move is to get out while the getting is good.

Tomlin oversaw one of the worst collapses in Pittsburgh sports history, and he’s the coach of a team being called a laughing stock.

He hasn’t won a playoff game in two seasons, and he has lost way too many games to inferior teams. The Antonio Brown fiasco has turned into a soap opera that has embarrassed the NFL’s most respected franchise.

There are conflicting reports about what happened between Tomlin’s future Hall of Fame quarterback and his future Hall of Fame wide receiver during the last week of practice.

Antonio Brown threw the ball at Ben Roethlisberger and walked off the field.

That was the story for a while.

Then former NFL wide receiver James Jones, an NFL Network analyst, reported another side of the story. His sources said Roethlisberger picked on Brown too much in team meetings and practices and damaged their relationship. Jones was told it was Roethlisberger who threw the ball on the field and said, “Get him outta here” after Brown ran the wrong route.

Please.

Where’s the coach?

(For more, click in the link in the headline...)

VIDEO: Brandon Marshall gives his take on the Steelers and Antonio Brown situation

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