Denver Broncos' Mike McGlinchey grateful for offensive line coach Zach Strief
May 30—Sean Payton must really like 6-foot-8 right tackles.
When Payton had a 15-season stint as coach of the New Orleans Saints, his right tackle for a good bit of the time was 6-8, 320-pound Zach Strief. When Payton was named coach of the Broncos last February, he brought in Strief to be his offensive line coach.
And who was the first free agent Payton's Broncos agreed to sign in March? That would be 6-8, 315-pound right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who got a five-year, $87.5 million deal.
McGlinchey played the past five seasons for the San Francisco 49ers. And now if he has any questions about adjusting to the Broncos, he doesn't have to look far.
"It's huge for me," McGlinchey said. "Zach was the right tackle for Sean Payton. ... (It's) certainly something that's incredibly valuable to me to have a position coach that literally stood in my shoes."
Strief played for the Saints from 2006-17, including being their starting right tackle from 2011-16. He was on the 2009 Saints team that won Super Bowl XLIV, spending that season mostly as a reserve.
"It's really a cool thing when you get to have a former player as your coach, but especially one who's pretty recent," McGlinchey said. "I was so excited to come here and play for Zach. I think we're going to have a great relationship."
McGlinchey came to Denver with the reputation for being a top-notch run blocker but one who has been inconsistent in pass blocking. Overall, quarterback Russell Wilson was thrilled when the Broncos signed him.
"I've been fortunate to play McGlinchey, watching him over the years," said Wilson, whose Seattle Seahawks faced the 49ers twice a season from 2018-21 when they had McGlinchey and also was on hand when Denver faced San Francisco last year. "His dominance that he's had. When he walks into the building, you can feel his presence."
The Broncos brought in McGlinchey and left guard Ben Powers, who got a four-year, $52 million contract, with an eye on better protecting Wilson, who was sacked 55 times last season. Denver allowed 63 total sacks, the most in the NFL.
McGlinchey said he didn't want to look at any statistics from last season. But he stressed what playing on the line is all about.
"Any offensive line's job is to keep the defensive linemen off the quarterback," McGlinchey said. "Job '1A' is to establish the run game and job '1B' is to keep them off the quarterback."
McGlinchey has plenty of confidence in the Broncos being able to do the job. He said "the sky's the limit" for the offensive line and pointed to the tackles Denver has in him and Garett Bolles on the left side.
"I certainly believe in the two tackles that we can be upper echelon and always playing in the top in the league," McGlinchey said.
While looking to keep Wilson clean, McGlinchey can get advice from another quarterback who has suffered his share of sacks. That would be McGlinchey's cousin, Matt Ryan, who is eighth in NFL history with 488 sacks but also has four Pro Bowl selections and the 2016 MVP award on his resume.
Ryan, who played in the NFL from 2008-22, recently took a position as an NFL analyst for CBS, although he said his playing career isn't necessarily over. Meanwhile, McGlinchey will continue to look to Ryan for advice.
"Matt has been my football hero since I can remember," McGlinchey said. "He went to Boston College in 2013 when I was 8 years old, which is like the perfect time for a young kid to start following somebody. .... Matt has been incredibly helpful whether it's a direct lesson that he's shared verbally or watching football with me or just me watching from afar."
CBS is scheduled to broadcast at least 10 Broncos games in 2023. Stay tuned to see if Ryan is in the booth offering a critique of McGlinchey.
