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When the announcement was made that the New York Giants had fired offensive line coach Marc Colombo, the news came as a bit of a shock to the football world.
The Giants’ O-line had been improving after all, and many viewed Colombo as one of the league’s best positional teachers. However, it wasn’t long before we all learned what led up to the firing and just how ugly things had gotten between Colombo and head coach Joe Judge.
Ultimately, Judge decided that parting ways with Colombo was best for the organization and he made sure to discuss the situation with his players.
“I spoke to the entire team last week. I spoke with the offensive line, I spoke with the captains, I spoke with people both individually and collectively based on the units,” Judge told reporters on Monday. “Again, we’re pretty transparent as an organization. If something happens with the team, we keep it in-house, but I speak very openly with the team about it.”
Like everyone else, the players felt somewhat blindsided by Colombo’s firing, but have faith that Judge’s decisions really are in the best interest of the organization.
“I think it’s definitely a shock. I don’t care what type of job you have, if anyone gets fired, it’s going to be a shock to anyone in the workplace. I really don’t understand what was going on, so I feel like it wasn’t in my place to try to figure out what was going on,” defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “I just figured it was something between them and something that had to happen upstairs. It’s not really in my payroll. I just come to play defensive end in the defense. Try to be the best leader I can be in my position. It was definitely a shock, that’s really all I can say.”
“That entire situation is definitely above my pay grade,” tight end Evan Engram said. “As a player and as a team, we know that with Coach Judge, every decision he makes is in the best interest of the team. I know me personally and a lot of guys loved working with Coach Colombo and obviously wish him the best. But like I said, that’s the thing with Coach Judge. His best interest is always with the team.”
Ultimately, Williams says, you either buy in on what Judge is selling or you don’t — and most have.
“[Judge’s] style of coaching is good for players who want to win and want to play hard, practice hard, and understand that your practice is reflective of how you play. Guys that are willing to buy into a program are going to do great under a system like that,” Williams added.
“There’s obviously some guys who are a little bit harder to coach and little bit harder to get to buy into systems. They might be a little bit harder to fall into line. At the same time, when you’re a part of this team, you kind of feel the atmosphere of everyone buying in. Even those guys that are a little bit harder to coach, once they see the rest of their teammates buying in, they will come along eventually, too. I think it’s a great way, the way we practice. I think it shows we have a tough team. I feel like after losses or wins we go right back to work. I think it’s a hard-hat type of team that wants to work and grind.”
Perhaps Colombo was one of the outliers. And even with some player support, Judge is the captain of the ship and it’s his way or no way.
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