New York Giants News

Giants news, 11/19: Marc Colombo firing, Will Hernandez, more

More details emerge on the Giants’ switch of offensive line coaches

By Ed Valentine@Valentine_Ed Nov 19, 2020, 6:00am EST

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More on Marc Colombo firing

From Kim Jones of NFL Network, via Twitter:

I am convinced Joe Judge & Mark Colombo never got physical. I do believe Colombo called Judge, his boss, one of the dirtiest words in the English language. (Shoutout to person who told me prior to season that Colombo wouldn’t work out.)

From Ralph Vacchiano of SNY:

The firing of Colombo had actually been building for a while, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation. ...

The Giants’ young offensive line struggled early, though, and there was particular concern with the development of left tackle Andrew Thomas, the Giants’ first-round pick. In late October, after seeing Thomas in person, Paul Alexander, a former NFL offensive line coach who trained Thomas before the draft, told SNY that his former student had all but abandoned the techniques that had made him so successful at Georgia.

“My question is: ‘Why are you doing different things than you did?’” Alexander told SNY. “I mean, he was the best tackle in the country. And right now it’s like, ‘Oh, my God!’”

The offensive line was clearly dragging the Giants down through the first two months of the season, and Judge wasn’t going to just stand by and watch it happen without trying to help.

That’s why, even though the line improved, he decided to bring in DeGuglielmo as what one source described as an “offensive consultant.”

On Tuesday night, Judge revealed that plan to Colombo, who was furious, according to a source. An argument ensued, though sources insisted it wasn’t a physical fight, and harsh words were exchanged.

Will Hernandez “ready to go”

Giants’ guard Will Hernandez, in his first action since missing two games while on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, played 12 snaps Sunday vs. the Philadelphia Eagles after Kevin Zeitler suffered a concussion.

Hernandez said he knew that the team would be “very careful with me” as he returned from the virus, but that “I was always ready to go. I was always ready to play.”

Before falling ill, Hernandez had played every snap since being drafted in the second round in 2018. Was he upset that he didn’t play on Sunday? Hernandez gave an answer that would make head coach Joe Judge proud.

“ ... at the end of the day here, we have to remember this is a team. This is about the team, not about Will Hernandez. If I wasn’t 100 percent ready to go coming back from this, then what’s best for the team here? We just need to remember that,” Hernandez said. “Coming back from two weeks of doing nothing, and not by choice but doing nothing, you have to kind of think about is he ready to just get back in there and play?”