Former Volunteer Muñoz, like father, has Pro Football Hall of Fame career
CANTON, Ohio (BVM) — Michael Muñoz had been to the Pro Football Hall of Fame even before he became a standout offensive lineman at the University of Tennessee. On Aug. 1, 1998, the high school-aged Michael was the speaker for his father, 11-time Pro Bowler and former Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Anthony.
“To be able to introduce my dad was pretty special,” Michael said. “I was excited to be able to tell people about who my father was. Everyone knew him as a great football player, but I was able to talk to them about how he was as a father and a man and i was excited to be able to do that.”
In January 2018, Michael also earned a spot in the Hall, despite never playing a snap in the NFL.
That year, Michael was hired as the Vice President of Character Development and managed the youth and education department. Though it may not have been the Hall of Fame career he envisioned during his time with the Vols, the position is one that was significant nonetheless and couldn’t have been accomplished without his experiences at Tennessee.
After a standout career at Moeller High School in Cincinnati, which saw the offensive tackle earn a spot on the USA Today all-USA high school football team in 1999, Michael would accept a football scholarship to join the Vols. Michael would quickly become a staple along the Vols offensive front, starting all four years he was healthy while taking a redshirt his sophomore year due to injury. In total, Michael would start 46 games for the Vols on his way to all-SEC honors his junior and senior seasons. Michael would also be named a consensus all-american his senior year and earn the Draddy Award, now known as the William V. Campbell Trophy, given to the college football player with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. While he’s proud of his accomplishments, some of his favorite memories come more so on the field.
“The best memories are of the guys that I built relationships with, the brothers I played the game with and putting in the work for the chance to play in a national championship,” Michael said. “Being named a team captain twice by guys on the team, that was huge because every year I know I put everything I had in preparing myself to be the best I could be and I think we really came together as a team all the years I was there.”
Despite his stellar performance and numerous accolades, Michael would not hear his name called during the 2005 NFL Draft due to uncertainty because of injuries and he decided to walk away from football rather than try out as an undrafted free agent.
“That was tough,” Michael said. “I loved football. I grew up around the game with my dad playing and I really agonized over that decision. At the time I felt it was the right thing to do. … At that time in my life I was physically, emotionally and mentally ready to move on.”
Instead, Michael would use the political science degree he earned during his time in Knoxville to run for office in Hamilton Township in Warren County, Ohio where at the age of 24 he would be elected as a trustee.
“I had wanted to play in the NFL my entire life so when that wasn’t a reality, I defaulted to what I studied in college and that was political science and public administration,” Michael said. “I found out very quickly I did not want to be a politician.”
While working in his trustee position part time, Michael would attend business school at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where he would earn his MBA. Following his four-year term as trustee, Michael would leave politics to enter the business world working in the marketing department at Procter & Gamble. After five years working at Procter & Gamble, Michael would work with his father to develop his own marketing agency, the Muñoz Agency, working with the NFL and their community activation department in bringing clinics and marketing outreach to predominantly Hispanic communities.
“I was in a global role in female beauty [at P&G] traveling around the world trying to market female beauty products and I had a moment like, ‘What am I doing?’ It was a great learning experience, but definitely wasn’t in my wheelhouse as a former offensive lineman selling lipstick,” Michael said. “When the opportunity came around to leave Procter & Gamble and to work with the NFL in sports marketing and teaching kids and communities about the game of football and the game of life, I jumped at the opportunity.”
It was during this time that Michael found his passion again for football, not on the field, but through helping others. After working with the Muñoz agency for some years, Michael would bring his knowledge and marketing skills to the Hall of Fame where he continues to work today. While he serves mostly behind the scenes, letting Hall of Famers and former NFL stars take the reins during most events, Michael is satisfied with just being able to spread some joy and wisdom to the youth of the world.
“I think it was exciting to be a part of that and to go to communities and yeah, teach kids about football and encourage them to be fans, but more importantly to be active members in their communities and make good decisions,” Michael said. “That’s been fun for the last 10 years.”
With over 400 events happening in a typical year, Michael tends to be pretty busy in his role. The COVID-19 pandemic gave Michael and his colleagues a new challenge to traverse, but the organization was able to still host events either virtually or using safe social distancing practices.
“It’s been difficult,” Michael admitted. “It’s an event company. They are events at a time where there are no events. … It’s creating virtual opportunities for kids to experience that in-person event online. Bringing that to wherever they are because we know whether it’s in-person, on a screen or through audio, [the lessons] are going to be transferable and profound whether [they’re] saying that face-to-face or on a screen.”
Though he may not be at the Hall of Fame for the same reasons as his father, Michael is just as happy to be serving the organization in the role he is in.
“It’s great because I know what being in the Hall of Fame means to dad and I know personally firsthand how special it is to be a part of the Hall of Fame,” Michael said. “It’s a really cool dynamic for me because I feel like a bridge between the folks who have given their lives to make Canton a great destination and for the guys who have busts in the Hall so I absolutely love it.”
He may not have expected this to be his Hall of Fame induction when he was a high school kid introducing his father into the hallowed halls, but Michael will be able to look back proudly on his current career in the NFL as one that impacted those around him in a positive way.
