Back when Bengals offensive line coach Jim McNally mentored left tackle Anthony Munoz through a Pro Football Hall of Fame career, he would sometimes point to Munoz and say to the nearest passerby : “The best that ever lived”.
McNally now joins Munoz in Canton as part of the Hall’s annual Excellence Awards program recognizing significant contributors to the game in “behind the scenes” roles such as assistant coaches, athletic trainers, equipment managers, directors film/video and public relations. directors.
The Hall announced the 2025 assistant coaching class Tuesday of McNally and longtime coaches Elijah Pitts and Dick Hoak.
“That has to be the highlight. You can’t go anywhere else if you’re an assistant coach,” McNally said while reflecting on his 43-year all-star career. “It’s the highest award one can get.”
McNally, 81, rose to fame as one of the founding fathers of modern offensive line play during his 15 seasons with the Bengals from 1980 to 1994, which included two Super Bowl berths and one of greatest lines of all time that spawned an NFL back-to-back. rushing titles for an offense that finished in the top five seven straight times from 1984 to 1990.
“I want to thank that offensive line from the ’80s. I can name them,” McNally said. “Munoz. (Bruce) Reimers. (Bruce) Kozerski. (Max) Montoya. (Joe) Walter.”
There were also Brian Blados and David Douglas coming off the bench at various points during a stretch. Quarterback Boomer Esiason won an NFL passing title and James Brooks and Ickey Woods combined for four 1,000-yard seasons.
McNally’s NFL career began with the Munoz draft and ended in the Joe Burrow era. In between stints with the Bengals, he helped build the expansion Carolina Panthers, then helped mentor a young quarterbacks coach named Sean Payton while leading the Giants’ offensive line to a Super Bowl before returning to his hometown in Buffalo and coaching the Bills offensive line.
After consulting for Payton’s Saints and later the Jets, McNally returned home to consult with the Bengals for a decade. As one of the first gurus to leave countless marks at clinics and camps, he has never retired and has a constant presence online and continues to be an influence on online gaming.
“There’s a lot of general thanks. Especially to (Bengals president) Mike Brown,” McNally said. “He brought me back.”
A cocktail reception and awards luncheon honoring McNally, Pitts and Hoak is planned in Canton on June 25-26.
Saturday’s game (4:30 p.m. – FOX 19 and NFL Network from Cincinnati) features a rematch with Bengals quarterback and MVP candidate Joe Burrow and Broncos quarterback and Rookie of the Year candidate Bo Nix.
When they met on Oct. 26, 2019, at LSU, Burrow was on his way to the Heisman Trophy and leading the Tigers to an undefeated national title season.
Only a freshman for Auburn, Nix brought the Tigers closer before losing, 23-20, despite missing 20 of 35 passes for 157 yards.
Both threw a touchdown and a pick that day, but Burrow was Burrowesque with 76 percent passing and a 143.5 passer rating.
Nix is middle of the pack and far from Burrow’s best passing numbers, but he led the Broncos to the brink of the playoffs with a good 87.7 passer rating that included 22 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a no-bets ability. . a dominant defense.
Burrow knows Nix, they contacted him and he enjoys watching the rookie.
“I’ve had a chance to watch them on TV a few times this year, and they do a good job on offense, running the ball and making plays,” Burrow said. “When we ask him to step back and play, he always seems to do them, I think he has a much stronger arm than people thought.
“It’s always nice to see guys that you’ve competed against and known for a long time continue to improve and put themselves in a good position to have a career.”
The Bengals are impressed with the way Nix moves in and out of the pocket while throwing, and it has caught the attention of defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo that he has totaled 376 rushing yards and four touchdowns. And it’s not all scrambles or called runs.
“It’s a combination of both. They have a bunch of nudes and boots and everything, and if it’s not there, it’s going to go away,” Anarumo said before Tuesday’s presentation. “They’ll have design runs for him and certainly if it’s just dropback passes and he sees an escape route like most quarterbacks these days. But this guy is a good athlete. He ran almost 400 yards on the ground, so he can go.”
A month ago, Bengals cornerback Maro Wilson played nine snaps for a Patriots team sniffing around the top pick in the draft after a loss to the Raiders. After Wilson helped the Bengals contain Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy last Sunday, he senses a playoff shot.
“It’s the NFL. It’s a tough place to win,” said Wilson, who has won 14 games since making the playoffs with the 2021 Cardinals as a fourth-round rookie. “I’m just lucky to be somewhere where we have an opportunity to win.”
Wilson, who was knocked out the week of Los Angeles’ Nov. 17 loss to the Chargers when DJ Turner suffered a season-ending collarbone injury, played five snaps in last week’s win over Tennessee and eight in the victory against the Browns last Sunday.
But every game, Wilson trailed the other club’s most dangerous receiver on passes because of his speed. He held the Titans’ Calvin Ridley to a 14-yard catch and helped calm down Jeudy, who came in with more receiving yards than Ja’Marr Chase last month. As Wilson went step-for-step with Jeudy, Jeudy finished with two catches for 20 yards.
“He’s a guy that our scouting department did a great job of identifying,” Anarumo said. “He has great coverage skills. He can really run. He’s sticky in coverage. He’s with his man all the time and he’s a super smart guy, with a great personality. I love everything at his home.”
Wilson had previously played Ridley and Jeudy. Seven-on-seven in high school.
“I love playing guys from South Florida,” said Wilson, a Fort Lauderdale native. “Best talent.”
Anarumo and cornerbacks coach Charles Burks love Wilson’s speed and it allows them to go into matchup mode with Cam Taylor-Britt going against the bigger guys and rookie Josh Newton going against the shiftier guys. This could mean that on Saturday, Wilson will get Broncos rookie Troy Franklin. Or maybe even Marvin Mims, who has 26 catches but one for a 93-yard touchdown.
“The most important thing is visual discipline,” Wilson said. “They do a good job with the deep ball. Their quarterback can get out of the pocket, so we have to watch out for that. He doesn’t make the mistakes that rookie quarterbacks usually make. We have to make him make mistakes.”
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is encouraged by his starting tackles. Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (fibula), who has missed six of the last seven games, and right tackle Amarius Mims (hand/ankle), who left in the third quarter of last Sunday’s game, were both listed as limited in The Tuesday Walkthrough.
Their status is estimated as it was a step-by-step check, but before they took the field, Taylor said he felt good about getting them back to work…
The Broncos have three edge/defensive linemen who are in the top 20 in pressures, according to Pro Football Reference. Tweener Zach Allen, a 285-pound hybrid, is fourth with 40 pressures, and outside backers Nick Bontito (32) and Jonathan Cooper (27) are 12.th and 20threspectively.
“They’re fast. They’re doing well,” Taylor said. “They get around the edge. They can also work with power off the guys. They just get that push, so the pocket can collapse and they’re chasing you and there’s not a lot of places to get out for the quarterback- back.” …
The Bengals hosted a visit to the IEL Indoor Facilities on Tuesday 48 hours after the win over the Browns and four days before the Denver game. Taylor said he can’t worry about Denver having a mini-bye after its Dec. 19 loss to the Chargers and having nine days between games. The Bengals would have had this mini-bye if their Dec. 19 game against the Browns hadn’t been changed.
“It’s the schedule,” Taylor said. “We could have helped ourselves by playing last Thursday if we had played better. It is what it is. You just have to prepare your team and they will prepare their team.” …
