{"id":107325,"date":"2025-06-06T00:57:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T00:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/107325\/"},"modified":"2025-06-06T00:57:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T00:57:10","slug":"this-is-bo-nixs-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/107325\/","title":{"rendered":"This is Bo Nix’s team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike McGlinchey did not earn a degree in film and television at Notre Dame without recognizing a great script.<\/p>\n

When he signed with the Broncos as a free agent in 2023<\/a>, of course, the money mattered. But the coach<\/a>, not the Brink\u2019s truck backing into his bank account, made the difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played for Kyle (Shanahan), one of the best. And I know how hard it is when that guy isn\u2019t right. I have heard that a lot from my buddies who signed with us (in San Francisco), and guys when I first got here,\u201d McGlinchey told The Denver Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an NFL football player, your life can be really miserable if you have an idiot for a head coach. I made sure that I wasn\u2019t going to turn my career over to just anyone. I wanted to compete at the highest level. And Sean (Payton) was the deciding factor.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he shielded his 6-foot-8, 315-pound frame from the bright sun Thursday, McGlinchey explained how he trusted Payton\u2019s vision, his belief, his conviction. But it also took blind faith that Payton was as good at identifying a franchise quarterback as he was at coaching one<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The selection of Bo Nix changed everything.<\/p>\n

Last April, Nix startled veteran running back Samaje Perine with how well he knew the playbook. McGlinchey felt like the kid was straight out of central casting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were all seeing and saying the same things,\u201d McGlinchey said.<\/p>\n

Watching Payton run practice and Nix run the offense at OTAs, it continues to validate McGlinchey\u2019s decision to come to Denver. The culture has changed. The nonsense has vanished. The losers are absent. The compass is pointing straight north after a 10-win season, something felt in the huddle and on every snap with Nix.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe confidence, the competitiveness, the willingness to get after Sean at times, this is Bo\u2019s team. He knows that. Everybody knows that,\u201d McGlinchey said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s really cool to see him manage expectations. He doesn\u2019t give a (bleep). He has such a talent of blocking out anything that doesn\u2019t matter to him. I think that\u2019s what separates the great ones: simplifying your life to make sure that everything is going towards one goal. The way he has looked the last two weeks, this kid is on his way to really taking off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BoBo Nix (10) of the Denver Broncos jogs during OTAs at Broncos Park in Englewood, Colorado on Thursday, May 29, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n

This is why McGlinchey came to a franchise enduring \u201cpretty dark times.\u201d He wanted to be part of the renovation. But nobody is putting away the hard hats and hammers after ending the eight-year postseason drought last winter. Not after getting smoked by the Bills. Not after lacking balance offensively.<\/p>\n

There remains plenty of room for improvement. The Broncos must run the ball better after former starter Javonte Williams led the team in rushing with 513 yards.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur running game can take that next step, and we need it to. We understand that in order to be as dominant as we want to be, you have to be able to control the ball on the ground, especially with the defense that we have,\u201d McGlinchey said. \u201cIf you can run the ball, you can control the clock, control the sticks. It makes it really hard for the opponent to gain traction.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his third season in Denver, McGlinchey has become a cornerstone of an offensive line that is central to the Broncos graduating from relevant to a legitimate threat to Kansas City\u2019s nine-year run of AFC West dominance. All the starters and every backup returned. It is allowing the group to make progress, to spend more time on how to block rather than who to block. There are also a few new wrinkles, including the sprinkling in of outside zone run blocking principles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never been in a situation like this with this much continuity,\u201d said McGlinchey, who is entering his eighth season. \u201cWe have the right guys. And everybody is here to do the right things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The truth is, you haven\u2019t always liked McGlinchey as the right tackle, citing penalties. You still might not like him, bothered by his salary. Some of you may never like him. But the Broncos need him.<\/p>\n

The Broncos\u2019 surprise success was also McGlinchey\u2019s. He delivered arguably his best season in 2024 despite missing four games with a knee injury, demonstrating consistency in the run and pass game while allowing only three sacks. When he was younger, McGlinchey obsessed over personal honors like the Pro Bowl. His mindset has shifted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about the accolades. They would be nice, but that is out of my control,\u201d McGlinchey said. \u201cI think there is so much more for me to accomplish in this league. It\u2019s about me being my best for my team.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGlinchey\u2019s chest puffs out when he talks about the Broncos, about the grunts up front. Both were panned before his arrival. Now, the Broncos no longer look like a giraffe on roller skates. This is a team, three years in the making. A team that is coming.<\/p>\n

It is not yet a stampede. But the object in the rearview mirror is much closer than it appears.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo go from where we were two years ago to where we are now, we all take pride in that, and in making sure our program never steps back to that again. It is so much fun. We are ready to be on the big stage of the NFL,\u201d McGlinchey said. \u201cWe are on the right track. Guys are believing. Being able to consistently execute in the biggest moments is the next part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mike McGlinchey did not earn a degree in film and television at Notre Dame without recognizing a great…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2062],"tags":[1991,925,232,231,258,2426,7,1713,1274,929,3884,926,6,1401,7535,1161,1813,9,2833,2831],"class_list":{"0":"post-107325","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-broncos","8":"tag-afc-west","9":"tag-bo-nix","10":"tag-broncos","11":"tag-denver","12":"tag-denver-broncos","13":"tag-denverbroncos","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-garett-bolles","16":"tag-javonte-williams","17":"tag-latest-headlines","18":"tag-mike-mcglinchey","19":"tag-more-broncos-news","20":"tag-nfl","21":"tag-notre-dame","22":"tag-samaje-perine","23":"tag-san-francisco","24":"tag-sean-payton","25":"tag-sports","26":"tag-sports-columnists","27":"tag-troy-renck"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114633706449602075","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}