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By now, the entire football world knows what transpired between New York Giants head coach Joe Judge and former offensive line coach Marc Colombo.
After several weeks of butting heads over the technique that was being taught and the offensive line rotation, things came to a head between Judge and Colombo last week.
After Colombo took exception to Judge adjusting how center Nick Gates did things, the O-line coach sought to undermine the head coach. That led to a verbal exchange during one of the team meetings and then an even more heated exchange last Tuesday night when Judge decided to hire Dave DeGuglielmo as an assistant.
The following day, Colombo was fired and per a decision among upper management, was escorted from the building by team security and a human resources representative in hopes of avoiding further conflict.
However, as it turns out, despite some of the earlier friction between Judge and Colombo, the first-time head coach was willing to keep his assistant at his position. That is, until Colombo completely erupted and essentially challenged Judge’s manhood.
Ralph Vacchiano of SNY reports that Judge actually wanted to help Colombo develop as a coach despite their clashes.
The hope, one source said, was that DeGuglielmo, who has 16 years of experience as an NFL assistant, could help guide Colombo, who is in only his fifth year as an NFL coach, particularly with teaching techniques.
Colombo resisted, which led to the nasty confrontation last Tuesday night. Judge could clearly see there were “philosophical differences,” as one source put it, and that Colombo wanted no part of working with a de facto assistant. Still, one source said Judge might have tried to make it work if it hadn’t been for Colombo’s over-the-top reaction.
The last straw, of course, came on Tuesday night and that put an end to Colombo’s chances of remaining with the team.
Considering how much Colombo resisted and how frequently he attempted to dress down the team’s head coach — both publicly and privately — it’s a testament to Judge that he considered keeping him on the staff at all.
Add in the fact that the offensive line had struggled mightily over the first seven or eight weeks of the season and it paints Judge as a remarkably patient man.
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