Colts make surprising decision to fire member of coaching staff
The Indianapolis Colts made what might seem like a minor tweak to their coaching staff on Tuesday, but the timing has left many people scratching their heads.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports that the Colts are parting ways with offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo.
Stunner: The #Colts are letting OL coach Dave DeGuglielmo go, sources say. That line made tremendous leaps this season. But Frank Reich wants his own guy. DeGuglielmo was the only offensive coach Josh McDaniels had hired. Reich is actually recommending him to other coaches.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 15, 2019
As Garafolo noted, the Colts’ offensive line was one of the most improved units in football this year. Poor O-line play had been one of the reasons Indy struggled in recent years and could not seem to keep Andrew Luck upright, and the presence of DeGuglielmo seemed to stabilize a lot of those issues.
That said, DeGuglielmo was not hired by Colts head coach Frank Reich. He was brought in by Josh McDaniels last year after McDaniels verbally agreed to become the head coach of the Colts, and the team decided to keep him on its staff. DeGuglielmo worked as the O-line coach with the New England Patriots in 2014 and 2015 when Dante Scarnecchia briefly retired.
Reich must feel that his own offensive system and/or the personnel is the biggest reason the Colts improved so much this season on the offensive line. Time will tell if that is the case.
