Giants Rumors: Did Fistfight With Joe Judge Lead to Marc Colombo’s Firing?

Giants Strongly Deny a Fistfight Led to Marc Colombo Firing

Getty Ex-Giants OL Coach Marc Colombo.

The New York Giants made some noise on Wednesday by shaking up their coaching staff. The team announced the surprise firing of offensive line coach Marc Colombo, replacing him with long-time NFL assistant Dave DeGuglielmo. Yet, this news was nowhere near as shocking as the rumor that circulated the web in the hours to follow.

FS1’s Jason McIntyre tweeted this now-questioned “scoop” on the Colombo firing shortly after news broke, claiming a fistfight between the now ex-Giants employee and head coach Joe Judge is what led to his ultimate firing:

However, the validity of this claim appears to have been debunked, with numerous reports denouncing a physical altercation occurred. Yet, that’s not to say a heated confrontation didn’t take place.

“Heard from a bunch of people today. I am convinced Joe Judge & Mark Colombo never got physical,” Kim Jones of NFL Network tweeted. “I do believe Colombo called Judge, his boss, one of the dirtiest words in the English language.”

ESPN’s Jordan Raanan chimed in as well, adding a bit more clarity to the situation, including a few words from a Giants spokesperson:

When Colombo was told of a plan by Judge to hire DeGuglielmo as a consultant on Tuesday night, it did not go down well.

Colombo did not agree with the move and felt that he was being undermined, a source told ESPN, due to DeGuglielmo’s background as an offensive line coach. Another source added that the hands-on Judge wanted to bring in ‘one of his guys’ to capture more control at a position that is not his expertise.

Although there was plenty of name-calling, Colombo and Judge did not get into a fistfight, as one report indicated. A Giants spokesperson said the report of a physical altercation is ‘absolutely false in every way.’

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DeGuglielmo & Judge Have Ties from New England Days

DeGuglielmo actually interviewed for the offensive line coach gig back in January before the Giants ultimately decided to go with Colombo. As one of Raanan’s sources noted, DeGuglielmo is one of Judge’s “guys.” The new Giants hire worked alongside Judge in New England from 2014-2015, serving as the Patriots’ o-line coach. Colombo, on the other hand, was one of the few hires to the Giants’ staff this offseason that had no previous connection to Judge. Rather, Colombo’s ties to the staff lay with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

The Giants kept things short and sweet in their official statement regarding Colombo’s firing.

“We appreciate what Marc has done, but I felt like this move is in the best interest of the team,” Judge stated.

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