Getty Changes coming to the New York Giants coaching staff.
The New York Giants entered their bye week on a high note, rallying off two consecutive victories. However, there were clearly areas that the organization felt could use a change of pace. Namely, the voice guiding the position group met with the task of protecting their perceived franchise signal-caller, Daniel Jones.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero has reported that the team is firing offensive line coach Marc Colombo. While the position group has improved their overall play of late, they’ve still surrendered a league-high 142 pressures on the season. Rookies Andrew Thomas and Shane Lemieux have begun to show promise in recent weeks, yet Daniel Jones has still been sacked a total of eight times over the team’s past two games.
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Colombo Edged Out His Replacement for the Role This Offseason
To replace Colombo, the Giants have called upon long-time NFL assistant, Dave DeGuglielmo. Interestingly enough, both DeGuglielmo and Colombo originally interviewed for the position back in January, prior to the latter being handed the job.
DeGuglielmo’s Ties to Coach Judge
DeGuglielmo has manned the same role in four different stops over his career; Miami Dolphins (2009-2011, 2017, 2019), New York Jets (2012), New England Patriots (2014-2015) and Indianapolis Colts (2018).
Of course, his stint in Foxborough is the one that jumps off the screen, as he worked alongside current Giants head coach Joe Judge, who served as a special teams coach for the Patriots over that same span. Unlike DeGuglielmo, Colombo had no previous ties to Judge, but rather to offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, as Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com highlighted.
DeGuglielmo actually got his start in the NFL with the Giants back in 2004, serving as an assistant offensive line and quality control coach for the Giants for five seasons.
Colombo’s Time With NY
While the Giants’ offensive line has clearly underperformed this season, Colombo was dealt a bit of a short hand in what he was given to work with. With Nate Solder opting out this season, the Giants returned just two starters (Will Hernandez & Kevin Zeitler) from the year’s previous group. The rest of the unit was filled out with a rookie in Andrew Thomas who was thrown into the fire at left tackle, a right tackle in Cam Fleming who had never previously served as a full-time starter in his previous six pro seasons, and a center in Nick Gates who prior to week one of this year had never played the position.
Still, Colombo appeared to have the group heading in the right direction, even earning praise from Giants.com’s John Schmeelk, just hours prior to his firing:
What sticks out the most is the coaching staff’s ability to adjust their approach once the season started and they were able to identify the strengths of their players. It became evident early in the schedule that the offensive line was having trouble executing the outside zone scheme, so Jason Garrett and Marc Colombo installed more a of a downhill, power, inside run scheme. And the run game has taken off.
Garrett also adjusted his passing scheme to rely more on play-action, run-pass options, the quick game and mass protection to take some pressure off of a young and developing offensive line. The offense has been able to move the ball without having to ask the offensive line to frequently block on five- and seven-step drops. The group’s pass blocking is continuing to improve.
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