Tag: Marc Colombo

Worst Bears draft pick from each year since 2000

We look back at the worst Bears draft pick from each year since the turn of the century.

The 2023 NFL draft will be here before we know it and it’s once again another golden opportunity for the Chicago Bears to improve their team with young talent. The Bears hold four selections in the top 64 picks, including the No. 9 overall pick, giving them a shot to select premier players across multiple positions.

As is the case every year, the NFL draft is an inexact science and not every pick is going to pan out. The Bears have certainly had their fair share of misses over the years.

We already looked at the best player from each draft, now it’s time to review the worst player from each Bears draft class since 2000.

Rob Sale leaves Giants, joins Florida Gators

The New York Giants have lost offensive line coach Rob Sale, who has taken the offensive coordinator role at the University of Florida.

The New York Giants will once again be looking for a new offensive line coach under Joe Judge — assuming Judge himself stays.

Rob Sale, who had taken the Giants’ offensive line coaching job for the 2021 season, is departing to become the offensive coordinator for the University of Florida.

The move was widely expected, especially given Sale’s ties to Florid head coach Rob Napier, who were both assistant coaches on Alabama together.

Since Judge has become the head coach for the Giants in 2020, he’s had three offensive line coaches: Marc Colombo, who was fired in the middle of the 2020 season after an in-house blow-up, and Dave DeGuglielmo, who finished the rest of the season before he was hired away by Louisiana Tech.

And now Sale, who departs for the college game like DeGuglielmo.

The next offensive line coach has the task of trying to help fix a unit that has been near the bottom of the NFL for several years.

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Report: Giants wanted Dave DeGuglielmo back but agreement couldn’t be reached

The New York Giants attempted to bring OL coach Dave DeGuglielmo back, but the two sides could not reach an agreement.

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The New York Giants are in the market for another new offensive line coach, but that’s not exactly an issue they wanted to tackle this offseason.

On Tuesday afternoon, it was reported that the Giants would part ways with Dave DeGuglielmo mere months after he replaced Marc Colombo, who had been fired mid-season after verbally confronting head coach Joe Judge on multiple occasions.

The Giants had desired a DeGuglielmo return in 2021 and were actively negotiating a deal. However, an agreement could not be reached and the two sides ultimately went in their own direction.

The need for a new offensive line coach creates a little instability at a position that can not afford it. Headed into the offseason, Judge & Co. were desperate to find some consistency and continuity across the board — a recent rarity in East Rutherford — but that has not happened.

Although offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was passed over for a head coaching job in Los Angeles and appears destined to return, at least one position on the offensive staff now needs a new face. Similarly, the Giants remain in the market for an outside linebacker coach after Bret Bielema abruptly left late in the season to take the Illinois head coaching job.

While two assistant coaching changes doesn’t seem like a steep hill to climb, the Giants are still in the process of establishing a new culture and building a new foundation. Each brick that needs replacing is one less added to the top of the stack.

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Giants’ Andrew Thomas is running his own race, not worried about other OTs

New York Giants LT Andrew Thomas says he’s not worried about his OT draft mates and is focused on running his own race.

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New York Giants rookie offensive tackle Andrew Thomas had a rough start to his professional career, leading some to question general manager Dave Gettleman’s decision to draft him with the No. 4 overall pick.

However, as the season wore on, Thomas demonstrated a steady incline culminating with his most dominant performance of the year against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17.

Still, whether it’s fair or not, Thomas will forever be compared to the other members of his draft class — Tristan Wirfs, Jedrick Wills and Mekhi Becton. But it’s not something Thomas gives much thought to, telling reporters on Tuesday that he’s running his own race and beating to the sound of his own drum.

“For me, I look at it as running my own race,” Thomas said. “I want all those guys to be successful, but for me I want to be the best player I can be, the best player I can be for the Giants, for my teammates and that’s what I’m working to be. If I’m focused on what’s going on outside of me, that takes away from being the best player I can be, so I’m just focusing on myself.

“[I’m] not paying attention to what’s going on in the other lanes, just focusing on what Andrew has to do, what he has to do to get better and that’s what I’ve been doing.”

If the four are in a race, Thomas is currently trailing based on multiple metrics. But it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish and Thomas is gaining.

“Obviously, it didn’t start out the way I wanted it to but being a rookie player, left tackle in the NFL, it’s a tough deal,” Thomas said. “So it just took time. Continued to work, just keep my head down, try not to pay too much attention to the media, obviously there’s social media and things like that.”

Those who have gone to battle with Thomas this season have the utmost faith in him. Prior to his firing, Marc Colombo offered hefty praise for Thomas. So did Colombo’s replacement, Dave DeGuglielmo.

“He’s got talent and he’s playing obviously at a premier position in this league. It’s not [easy] to do. I couldn’t do it. Never could, never be able to, but I see the competitiveness that’s going to take him to have a solid career,” DeGuglielmo said in December. “Now, he’s a rookie. Rookies and kickers, they all go in the same bucket with me, you know they’re all over there. They’re their own little grouping of individuals. You need them, they’re necessary and they’re important to your program but it always takes time for a rookie, any rookie to elevate his game to what the others will be.

“He’ll get there. He’ll get there. I promise you this guy will get there, one way of another he’ll get there.”

Head coach Joe Judge and Thomas’ teammates believe that as well. Slow and steady wins the race.

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Dave DeGuglielmo taking over as ‘plumber’ for Giants

It’s business as usual — just slightly unusual business for the New York Giants. Dave DeGuglielmo now takes over the the “plumber.”

The recent change at offensive line coach by the New York Giants has gone off without a hitch thus far, although it had all the signs of becoming a possible disaster.

Two weeks ago, head coach Joe Judge told line coach Marc Columbo that he was bringing in veteran offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo as a consultant. Columbo did not take the news well and and an argument ensued, leading Judge to dismiss Colombo altogether and replace him with DeGuglielmo.

So far, so good. The Giants are 1-0 after the change and are looking forward to further success. DeGuglielmo, who began his NFL career in 2004 with the Giants on Tom Coughlin’s staff, has won two Super Bowl rings — one with the Giants and the other as a member of Bill Belichick’s staff in New England, where he met Judge.

“I guess it would be the equivalent of a plumber called to a different company to do a plumbing job,” DeGuglielmo told reporters on a Zoom call on Monday. It was his first interview since joining the team.

“Generally speaking, this is what I do. Sometimes the circumstances are more advantageous for me personally, but I think there’s a solid system here. Joe Judge and (offensive coordinator) Jason Garrett have a solid system in place. I’m coming in to just do my role as a line coach and try to keep things moving in the proper direction. That’s all.”

DeGuglielmo had said he did not plan on making any major changes but comes in halfway through the season not very familiar with Garrett’s offense.

“It’s not overly complicated or anything like that. And I’m doing the adjusting,” DeGuglielmo said. “I’m having to learn a new language, if you will. It’s like taking a job in Spain and I don’t know Spanish. Well, I still know how to do my job, I just don’t know the language of it. That’s all and that’s really been the adjustment.”

Coach ‘Guge,’ as he is known, was not ready to offer any in-depth analysis of his charges on the call only to just say he’s still getting his feet wet with the Giants.

“I haven’t been with these guys for very long,” DeGuglielmo said. “I have gone back and watched all of the video tape. I think (Andrew Thomas is) doing a good job of trying to work on the problems he had early in the year. That’s the big thing with all of them. If you find a perfect play somewhere, point it out to me because I don’t see that anywhere in the National Football League. Guys are going to make mistakes, and they’re going to grow throughout a season.”

Guge did offer his general view of the Giants’ current offensive line situation and why he sees going forward.

“I like this line is growing,” he said. “I don’t have the same concerns about rotating guys in as other people might have because this is an opportunity for us to take a look at a bunch of players. I think we have some players who are quality players that are sitting on the bench. I believe what Coach Judge believes in, and that’s trying to get guys experience. Guys get injured these days. You’re going to need those other players, those backups, down the road. But in the week I’ve been here with them, I haven’t encountered one guy that resists drill work or resists coaching or resists instruction. I think that’s the key.

“Every day, we just need to work on little things. We have one or two points a week that we emphasize. If we can do that, whether I was the line coach in the beginning or the line coach in the middle or the end, we’d still be doing the same thing. We’d be emphasizing the points that need to be addressed and just focusing on them and getting better every day. That’s all we can do, and they’ve done a great job doing that.”

What more could I ask?”

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Giants’ Jason Garrett refuses to address Marc Colombo firing

New York Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett refuses to address the firing of offensive line coach Marc Colombo.

The New York Giants (3-7) can grab first place in the NFC East this weekend with win over the Cincinnati Bengals (2-7-1) combined with a Philadelphia Eagles loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

On Friday, their three coordinators addressed the media in preparation for their trip to Cincinnati. The Giants are coming off their bye week after two consecutive victories lifted them into second place in the division.

The Bengals have lost five of their last six games and now face the reality of finishing the season without their starting quarterback (Joe Burrow) and their top running back (Joe Mixon).

Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett touched on the firing of offensive line coach Marc Colombo, a close confidant going back to their days in Dallas.

“I know Coach Judge has talked about that and addressed that, so I don’t see any reason for me to talk about it much further,” Garrett told reporters. “Joe took care of all that, and we’re focused on what we have to do this weekend against Cincinnati. Thank you.”

As for Garrett’s relationship with Joe Judge, the coordinator proclaimed everything is fine.

“I think I have a great relationship with Joe,” Garrett said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, like I said, from afar when he was coaching in New England. All the people that I know that have been around him had great respect for him. My time with him in New York has been a really positive experience for me. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from him. I like the program that we’re trying to build here with our team and how we go about it. I have nothing but great respect for him and appreciate the opportunity to coach for him here in New York.”

Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham may be looking at an embarrassment of riches at safety now that this year’s second round pick, Xavier McKinney, is set to make his NFL debut this Sunday after missing the first 10 games with foot injury.

Graham already has Logan Ryan, who is leading all NFC safeties in the Pro Bowl voting, Jabrill Peppers and Julian Love in the fold and the addition of McKinney has prompted some questions of where he might fit in this crowded secondary.

Graham said  he plans on throwing the ‘kitchen sink’ at McKinney.

“What does he bring?” commented Graham. “He’s a good football player, that’ what he brings.”

Special team coordinator Thomas McGaughey is facing a week without his valuable placekicker, Graham Gano, who is currently on the Reserve/COVID-19 list after a positive test last week.

Although Graham returned to practice on Friday, he is said to be a game-time decision. If Gano can’t go, McGaughey will trot out Ryan Santoso, who he has confidence in.

“Ryan’s very talented,” said McGaughey. “We’ve been watching him here all year. We brought him in because he has a ton of talent and he’s gotten better since he’s been here. I would expect Ryan to do the same thing he does in practice, just make kicks. Is he perfect? Absolutely not. Is he inexperienced? Absolutely he is. But this kid has a ton of talent, he will kick in this league one day. Ryan’s a very talented kid, hard worker and we’ll see what happens, but Ryan’s talented, make no mistake about it.”

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Giants’ O-line won’t see many changes under Dave DeGuglielmo

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge said things won’t change too much under incoming offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo.

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In his first media session since making a change at offensive line coach, New York Giants head coach Joe Judge chose to keep the sordid details surrounding the confrontation and eventual firing of Marc Colombo in house.

“I’ll just say on the entire situation, I made this clear from day one, I’m always going to make every decision what I see is best for the team,” Judge told reporters on Monday. “This decision was no different.

“Look, there’s been a lot of information out there, a lot of misinformation. A lot of people have done a lot of digging trying to figure out details of the situation. I’m not going to rehash any of that. I’ll just say on the whole thing, we wish Marc well going forward. The decision we made was in the best interest of the New York Giants, short and long-term.”

The man coming in to replace Colombo is veteran NFL assistant Dave DeGuglielmo, who began his career in the pro ranks as a quality control and assistant offensive line coach under Tom Coughlin here with the Giants from 2004-08.

DeGuglielmo has also coached the offensive liens of the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots, where he served on Bill Belichick’s staff alongside Judge from 2014-15.

Judge and Colombo had some differences of opinion on how the line should be coached, to say the least, but told reporters that not much will change under DeGuglielmo.

“We’re not going to do anything to turn the offense upside down right here,” Judge said. “We’re going to continue focusing on technique and assignments and principles of what we want to do big picture wise. They’ll be some adjustments here and there as we go. With six weeks left in the season, there is going to be a lot of continuity we’re looking to keep in place and keep improving as we go through the rest of the season. Will there be adjustments as needed throughout the season? Yes. Are we going to look to turn everything upside down? No.”

Judge said he didn’t feel that the switch to DeGuglielmo would be met with any resistance and said he spoke to the team about the changes.

“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 added. “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.”

Judge continues to focus on not losing the team and the locker room during this trying season, his first as thread coach.

“Look, we’re all professionals here,” he said. “We all have one goal in improving the team. Obviously, we’ve been working through a season. There are a lot of new guys coming from different spots. We’re all New York Giants now. We’re all working towards the same goal. There have been no effects in that nature right there. I feel good about going forward with everybody.”

Giants players shocked by firing of Marc Colombo

New York Giants players admit they were shocked by the firing of offensive line coach Marc Colombo, but fully support head coach Joe Judge.

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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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Giants’ Joe Judge addresses Marc Colombo firing: ‘Best interest of the team’

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge said the firing of Marc Colombo was “in the best interest of the team” and hinted at some OL changes.

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge met with reporters on Monday evening for the first time since a major fallout led to the firing of offensive line coach Marc Colombo.

Unsurprisingly, Judge was relatively tight-lipped on the subject, refusing to discuss the incident at length and simply wishing Colombo well in the future.

“I’ve made this clear from Day 1 that I’m always going to make every decision in the best interest of the team. This decision was no different,” said Judge, who looked to be in perfect physical health. “There’s been a lot of information out there, a lot of misinformation. A lot of people have done a lot of digging trying to find out details of the situation [but] I am not going to rehash any of that.

“We wish Marc luck going forward. The decision we made was in the best interest of the New York Giants both short- and long-term.”

With Dave DeGuglielmo now taking over the offensive line duties, Judge said some changes should be expected but that a major overhaul should not.

Judge also acknowledged speaking with the team about the incident with Colombo and his eventual firing, which continued his run of complete transparency.

“I speak very openly about everything with the team,” Judge said, adding that he is “excited” about adding DeGuglielmo to the staff.

Finally, Judge shut down any notion that Colombo’s firing would lead to conflict between he and offensive coordinator Jason Garret, saying that their relationship and communication has not been impacted.

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Report: Giants’ Joe Judge may have kept Marc Colombo prior to blow-up

Despite earlier clashes, New York Giants coach Joe Judge intended to keep Marc Colombo on staff until the O-line coach threw a tantrum.

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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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