Back in the day when Bengals offensive line coach Jim McNally mentored left tackle Anthony Munoz during a Pro Football Hall of Fame career, sometimes he would point to Munoz and tell the nearest bystander, “Best who ever lived.”
Now McNally joins Munoz in Canton as part of the Hall’s annual Awards of Excellence program recognizing significant contributors to the game in “behind-the-scenes” roles such as assistant coaches, athletic trainers, equipment managers, film/video directors, and public relations directors.
The Hall on Tuesday announced the 2025 assistant coach class of McNally and long-time running back coaches Elijah Pitts and Dick Hoak.
“It has to be the highlight. There’s nowhere else you can go if you’re an assistant coach,” said McNally as he reflected on his star-studded 43-year-career. “It’s the highest award you 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 1980-94 that included two Super Bowl berths and one of the greatest lines ever that spawned back-to-back NFL rushing titles for an offense that had seven straight top-five finishes from 1984-90.
“I want to thank that offensive line of the ’80s. I can name them,” McNally said. “Munoz. (Bruce) Reimers. (Bruce) Kozerski. (Max) Montoya. (Joe) Walter.”
There was also Brian Blados and David Douglas who came off the bench at various junctures 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 drafting of Munoz and ended in the Joe Burrow Era. In between stints with the Bengals, he helped build the expansion Carolina Panthers and then helped mentor a young quarterbacks coach named Sean Payton while leading the Giants offensive line to a Super Bowl before going back to his hometown to Buffalo to…
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