Tyler Polumbus on Journey From Denver Broncos to Altitude Sports Radio

"I never thought I'd be in media when I was a player," says former Denver Bronco Super Bowl champion Tyler Polumbus. "Media was kind of the enemy."

Not anymore. Shortly after retiring from pro football in 2016, Polumbus, an offensive lineman who played for the Broncos and several other squads, including Seattle and Washington, over his eight-year career, became a local sports-radio personality — and in 2019, he landed one of Denver broadcasting's highest-profile jobs, as co-host with Darren "D-Mac" McKee on the afternoon-drive program for 104.3 The Fan. But the gig proved relatively short-lived: Last month, Polumbus tweeted that his contract at The Fan hadn't been renewed, and within weeks, he was replaced by his former Broncos teammate, onetime defensive stalwart Derek Wolfe.

But Polumbus wasn't on the sidelines for long, with Altitude Sports Radio 92.5, home of the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets, bringing him aboard to co-helm the midday program alongside Scott Hastings and Josh Dover.

The welcome Polumbus received before his first show on Monday, October 24, took advantage of the pro teams under the umbrella of Altitude Sports Radio's parent company, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, named after owner and gazillionaire Stan Kroenke. "KSE rolled out the red carpet at the Avs and Nuggets games," he recalls. Rocky, the Nuggets' mascot, "brought me and my son out and introduced us, and we got to bang the drums at the Nuggets game. What an incredible weekend."

These gestures were especially meaningful given his background. "I grew up in Denver," says Polumbus, who went to high school at Cherry Creek and starred in college for the CU Buffs. "I didn't just watch Denver Broncos games. I was here when the Avs' run started and went to those games. I was neighbors with Dan Issel [a former Nuggets hoopster and coach who's a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame] and watched Dikembe [Mutombo] and all those guys. I love those teams, too."

When Polumbus joined the Denver Broncos, the offensive linemen famously refused to grant interviews. "I had great relationships with the media," he stresses, "but I didn't talk to them on the air." Upon his retirement, though, he realized a career on the other side of the microphone made sense: "I was sitting on the patio one night talking with my wife about what my options were, and I realized I wanted to use what I know — and I always like to say I have a Ph.D. in football. So I could either coach or get into broadcasting. I got on the air shortly after that and learned it was a lot of fun."

After a brief stint teaming with Cecil Lammey on The Fan, Polumbus jumped to Orange & Blue 760, an all-Broncos station that quickly flopped; its plug was pulled in 2019. "I did that with Andy Lindahl, who I'm really happy to be around again [Lindahl co-hosts Altitude's weekday afternoon shift]. But in terms of the station itself, it was tough. Starting up a new radio station isn't easy, and it definitely wasn't the strongest stick in the world," he says, referring to the outlet's relatively weak signal. "The stick didn't even really wake up until seven or seven-thirty in the morning, and it kept changing formats, going from politics to sports and back to politics and back to sports probably four or five times. There wasn't necessarily a long-term commitment from the parties involved that was needed, either. so I was bummed out that it didn't work. But it led to other opportunities down the road. It's all part of the journey, and I'm grateful."

At The Fan, Polumbus came into his own in part because he'd established more distance from his days on the gridiron. "I was so close to the game that covering my teammates, who I had just won a Super Bowl with, and giving an honest opinion on their performance was hard," he admits. "But I learned over time how to do that without getting personal. If I had a bad game and somebody wrote about it — 'Tyler gave up two sacks, he was terrible' — I never had a beef. But when it got personal, that's when there were problems. I had to learn how to walk that fine line, where I would cover guys with respect — and I never forget how hard it is to play the game."

Partnering with D-Mac "was definitely a huge opportunity for me — and you don't get a show like that unless you've put in the work. I'm really proud of the show we put on for the last three years, and we had a great following."

Polumbus avoids going into detail about how his contract situation deteriorated, saying only that "we were in talks and it came down to the wire and we didn't get anything done — and once I was aware that we weren't going to get anything done, I made the announcement. And fortunately, about 48 hours later, I was sitting in the office with Dave Fleck [the head of Altitude Sports Radio]. It didn't take long to come to terms, and I'm working with people I couldn't respect more. It already feels like home — like I've been doing shows there for years."

He shrugs off the idea that being replaced by Broncos teammate Wolfe was awkward. "Derek and I are definitely close friends," he says. "We won a Super Bowl together, and that's a bond that will never be broken. But in football, I've been cut and traded. I've taken friends' jobs and I've lost jobs to friends. You get accustomed to that transactional world in football; you're kind of mercenaries. And this doesn't feel a lot different."

At Altitude, Polumbus will get the chance to talk plenty about the Broncos, but "we'll certainly cover the Nuggets and the Avs more than I had previously, and I'm really excited about it," he notes. "And the format's also a little different. We're just really focused on having a good time and entertaining, and wherever that leads, it leads. I've known Scott and Josh for a long time, and I know we're going to laugh a lot. So I'm excited to be back on the air and back talking with the folks in Denver."