The New York Giants made a surprising decision on Wednesday to fire offensive line coach Marc Colombo, and there are some wild rumors circulating about the circumstances surrounding his dismissal. The Giants say those rumors are completely unfounded.
After news surfaced that Colombo has been fired, Jason McIntyre of FOX Sports 1 said he was told Colombo and Giants head coach Joe Judge got into a fistfight on Wednesday morning. Colombo supposedly got the better of Judge and was fired on the spot.
Numerous NFL reporters and just about every Giants beat writer have shot down McIntyre’s report. According to SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano, Judge had recently taken on a more active role in trying to fix some of the team’s offensive line issues. The head coach also brought in his former colleague Dave DeGuglielmo as a consultant. Colombo was unhappy with the arrangement and had an argument with Judge, but it did not turn physical.
… Marc Colombo did not like that idea and voiced his displeasure. There was an argument, but nothing at all physical, several sources said. It was clear that a Colombo-DeGuglielmo pairing wasn't going to work, so Judge decided to fire Colombo instead.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) November 18, 2020
Despite numerous denials, McIntyre is standing by his source or sources.
I’d say the same if I wanted to work again on a team next year. But 100% a fight
— Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) November 18, 2020
Daniel Jones has taken 31 sacks this season, which is third-most in the NFL behind only Carson Wentz and Joe Burrow. The Giants need to get better with their pass protection, which is why Judge is trying to address the issues. Colombo coached an extremely successful offensive line with the Dallas Cowboys before following Jason Garrett to New York. It sounds like he took Judge’s recent moves personally.
We’ve seen flashes of Judge’s temper this season, like when he went off on officials in a recent game for picking up a pass interference flag. You can see that video here. Still, it would be a surprise if he and Colombo traded blows.
