Dave DeGuglielmo - Pro Football Rumors

Coaching Notes: Colts, Jets, Giants, Texans

February 10th, 2021 at 9:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Former East Carolina head coach Scottie Montgomery will return to the NFL as a running backs coach with the Colts. Montgomery, an NFL wideout in the early 2000s, was the Steelers’ wide receivers coach from 2010-12 — during which the receiver-developing franchise unearthed Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders and Mike Wallace — and East Carolina’s HC from 2016-18. Montgomery, 42, spent the past two years as Maryland’s offensive coordinator. The Colts also hired David Overstreet as assistant defensive backs coach.

Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:

The Jets are bringing Leon Washington back into the fold. The former first-team All-Pro Jet return man will be back in New York as an assistant special teams coach under Robert Saleh. Washington, who operated as a Jets return man and running back from 2006-09, spent the past two seasons with the Lions.
A Packers assistant from 2004-18, James Campen will move to his fourth team in four seasons. The Texans are hiring Campen as their offensive line coach, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Campen spent the 2020 season with the Chargers and ’19 slate with the Browns, seeing both teams move in different directions after making HC changes. The Texans hired David Culley recently and are giving Campen a three-year deal.
The Giants intend to hire Rob Sale to be their next offensive line coach, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Sale spent the past three seasons as Louisiana’s offensive coordinator. He has a history with Joe Judge. The two coached at Alabama together from 2009-11.
Sale will replace Dave DeGuglielmo, who will head to Louisiana himself. After 17 seasons in the NFL, DeGuglielmo agreed to become the offensive line coach at Louisiana Tech, Cory Diaz of the Monroe (La.) News-Star notes. DeGuglielmo, who collected a Super Bowl ring with the 2014 Patriots, was an emergency replacement for the Dolphins in 2019 and Giants in 2020. The Giants opted not to bring him back on a full-time basis.
Urban Meyer is adding veteran NFL running backs coach Bernie Parmalee to his Jaguars staff, according to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio (on Twitter). The former NFL running back has coached a few different areas in his relatively short coaching career, having helmed running backs, tight ends and special teams units. Parmalee spent the past three seasons in Atlanta and served as the Falcons’ ST coordinator in 2020.
The Vikings will add an assistant from the top college football program, hiring ex-Alabama cornerbacks coach Karl Allen to be their defensive backs coach, Pete Thamel of Yahoo.com tweets. Coaching a number of NFL-bound prospects, as Alabama staffers generally do, Allen spent three seasons with the Crimson Tide.

Coaching Notes: Steelers, Cowboys, Giants

January 20th, 2021 at 6:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Steelers made a key staff change last week, promoting Matt Canada to replace offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner. But the team will not part ways with DC Keith Butler. The longtime Pittsburgh coordinator agreed to terms on a one-year extension Wednesday, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). Butler has overseen Pittsburgh’s defense since the franchise split with Dick LeBeau in 2015, and while Butler’s units as a whole have not measured up to his predecessor’s Super Bowl-winning crews, the Steelers have led the NFL in sacks in each of the past four seasons and have ranked in the top three in DVOA in each of the past two.

Here is the latest out on the Pittsburgh staff and other coaching groups around the league:

Although the Steelers are coming off another home playoff defeat, Mike Tomlin does not appear to have moved toward a hot seat. Steelers ownership is not believed to have any desire to move away from Tomlin, per The Athletic’s Ed Bouchette (subscription required). Tomlin had the Steelers at 11-0 this season and managed to have last year’s largely Ben Roethlisberger-less team at 8-8, leading to Coach of the Year consideration in both cases. However, the Steelers lost five of their final six games this year and have lost home playoff games three times since 2014. Tomlin is signed through the 2021 season.
The Giants became the second team in two years to call on Dave DeGuglielmo as a late replacement as an offensive line coach, but the arrangement looks to have been temporary. Like the Dolphins last year, the Giants will not look to retain DeGuglielmo for a second season. They are searching for a new O-line coach, Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets. DeGuglielmo came to New York on an interim basis to replace Marc Colombo, whom Joe Judge fired this season.
The Panthers will turn to a legacy name to help out their offensive line. Carolina intends to hire Tony Sparano Jr. as assistant O-line coach, according to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports (on Twitter). The son of the late Tony Sparano, Sparano Jr. worked as the Jaguars’ assistant O-line coach for the past four seasons. Despite being 34, the second-generation coach has worked in the NFL since 2011.
Jim Harbaugh will poach one of his brother’s assistants. Ravens linebackers coach Mike MacDonald will become Michigan’s co-defensive coordinator, with Yahoo.com’s Pete Thamel reporting former Cowboys defensive backs coach Maurice Linguist will move to Ann Arbor, Mich., to share in that responsibility (Twitter link). Macdonald, 33, was with the Ravens for seven seasons — the past three as linebackers coach. Linguist has spent much of his career in the college ranks but was on Nolan’s staff in Dallas this season.
Another of Quinn’s Cowboys staffers became known Wednesday. The Cowboys hired Aden Durde as defensive line coach. Durde will follow Quinn from Atlanta, where he was most recently the Falcons’ outside linebackers coach. Durde, who spent time with the Cowboys as part of the Minority Fellowship Program from 2014-15, will join Joe Whitt Jr. in following Quinn from Atlanta to Dallas.
Arthur Smith‘s first Falcons staff will not include offensive line coach Chris Morgan, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer (on Twitter). Morgan worked with the Falcons for six years, initially serving under OC Kyle Shanahan. Given that offensive scheme’s presence in a few NFL cities, Morgan profiles as an interesting coaching free agent.

Giants Fire OL Coach Marc Colombo

November 18th, 2020 at 2:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite the Giants winning two straight games and generating recent rushing production without Saquon Barkley, they will have a new offensive line coach when they return from their Week 11 bye.

The Giants fired first-year O-line coach Marc Colombo after a shouting match with Joe Judge. The incumbent O-line instructor did not react well to the team bringing in veteran assistant Dave DeGuglielmo to work alongside him (Twitter links via The Athletic’s Dan Duggan and NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo).

Colombo earned the gig this offseason, beating out DeGuglielmo and rejoining OC Jason Garrett. Colombo had previously served as the Cowboys’ O-line coach. DeGuglielmo, however, had worked with Judge in New England and was on Tom Coughlin‘s staff as assistant Giants offensive line coach from 2004-08. He will go through COVID-19 protocols before joining the Giants, who will retain assistant offensive line coach Ben Wilkerson, Duggan notes (subscription required).

This marks the second straight year DeGuglielmo will take over for an O-line coach fired months after accepting a position. The Dolphins added DeGuglelmo after firing ex-Giants line instructor Pat Flaherty in August 2019. DeGuglielmo worked with Judge with the Patriots from 2014-15, during Dante Scarnecchia‘s sabbatical.

Andrew Thomas ranks 65th among tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, and Football Outsiders slots the Giants last in adjusted line yards. A former Cowboys offensive lineman, Colombo joined Garrett’s staff in 2016 and rose to the position of offensive line coach two years later. The Cowboys promoted to Colombo during the 2018 season, upon firing Paul Alexander. Judge has recently allocated more of his time to working with the O-linemen, with Garafolo noting the first-year HC viewed that as a position group that needed his attention (video link).

Coaching Notes: Giants, Bengals, Titans

January 20th, 2020 at 2:18pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Giants’ offensive line has been a bit of a mess the past few years, so who rookie head coach Joe Judge decides to hire as his O-line coach is a crucial call. One familiar name is getting consideration, as Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets that New York will interview Dave DeGuglielmo for the vacant job. DeGuglielmo has been in the NFL for the past 15 years, and was Miami’s offensive line coach this past season. The year before that he coached Indy’s league-best offensive line, but was surprisingly let go after the season. As Graziano points out, DeGuglielmo coached alongside Judge with the Patriots in 2014-15, so there’s plenty of familiarity there.

Here’s more from the coaching ranks:

The Bengals have a new cornerbacks coach, and it’s coming at the expense of the Jets. Cincinnati is hiring Steve Jackson to coach their cornerbacks, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post (Twitter link). Jackson had previously served as the Jets’ assistant defensive backs coach for the past two years. Jackson played with the Oilers/Titans for nine seasons from 1991-1999. He’s served as safeties coach for the Redskins and Titans in the past.
The Titans are also losing an assistant coach. Kerry Coombs, Tennessee’s secondary coach, is leaving to become the defensive coordinator at Ohio State, per Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports (Twitter link). There are plenty of connections between the two teams, as Titans head coach Mike Vrabel played at Ohio State and was an assistant coach with the Buckeyes before returning to the NFL. He brought a lot of guys from OSU with him to Tennessee, including Coombs.
In case you missed it, ESPN analyst and former backup NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky is drawing interest as a coach.

Coaching Notes: Giants, Rhule, Redskins, Dolphins

December 30th, 2019 at 6:45pm CST by Ben Levine

We heard rumblings that Baylor head coach Matt Rhule will be the Giants’ top choice to replace Pat Shurmur, who was canned as head coach earlier today. Yahoo’s Charles Robinson tweets that the organization is “motivated and borderline excited” to hear of Rhule’s various requests, and “they’ll be ears” if the coach asks to revamp any areas of the organization. This was a topic of contention last year when Rhule interviewed with the Jets.

Meanwhile, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo clarifies (on Twitter) that while Rhule would have the “leeway to make big decisions throughout the building,” the coach doesn’t necessarily want full personnel control.

Speaking of, Executive Vice President (and co-owner) Steve Tisch said he plans to take on a bigger role with the organization in 2020.

“I am involved. I would like to be more involved. I will become more involved,” he said (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan on Twitter).

Let’s check out some more coaching notes from around the NFL…

Those waiting for Ron Rivera‘s impending hiring by the Redskins will have to wait a bit longer. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport said negotiations between the organization and their presumed next coach good drag into Tuesday (Twitter link). However, the two sides are still expected to come to agreement on a deal.
The Dolphins let go of offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea earlier today, but the organization doesn’t doubt his ability to coach receivers. Sources told Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network (Twitter link) that the 47-year-old is viewed as a great wide receivers coach, but “people inside the building didn’t view him as a good coordinator.” The longtime assistant spent 10 years with the Patriots as the club’s WRs coach and joined former New England DC Brian Flores in South Beach when Flores became the ‘Fins head coach this year.
O’Shea wasn’t the only member of the Dolphins who won’t be back next season. Veteran offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo told NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo that he and the organization have decided to part ways (Twitter link). Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets that the Dolphins have also let go of safeties coach Tony Oden.

Dolphins Fire OC Chad O’Shea

December 30th, 2019 at 3:55pm CST by Rory Parks

The Dolphins have fired offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea, per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (Twitter link). The longtime assistant spent 10 years with the Patriots as the club’s WRs coach and joined former New England DC Brian Flores in South Beach when Flores became the ‘Fins head coach this year.

However, Miami’s offense was ranked 27th in the league in 2019, and while an overall lack of talent is mostly to blame for that, Flores has elected to move in a different direction.

The Dolphins finished the 2019 season with the worst rushing offense in the NFL and just 25th in overall points scored. The front office is expected to overhaul the personnel in the coming months and, when those new players are in the mix, they’ll be led by a new OC.

The Dolphins’ new-look offense will likely include a first-round quarterback and then some. This offseason, the Dolphins will be armed with tons of cap space, plus the No. 5 overall pick, as they look to turn things around.

It was a challenging year for the Dolphins, but there were bright spots. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick kept the club’s spirits up during a five-win season and they closed out the year with three wins in the last five games, including Ws over the Eagles and Patriots.

In addition to firing O’Shea, the Dolphins have also parted ways with offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo.

AFC East Notes: Brady, Dolphins, Bills

August 2nd, 2019 at 7:01pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A potentially important situation that has been flying a bit under the radar is Tom Brady‘s contract. The Patriots quarterback is quietly entering the final season of his deal, and there hasn’t been any word on if there’s even been any extension talks. Right now both sides appear set to let things play out, which is interesting to say the least. If they don’t get something done then, as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com points out, New England “will have a big decision to make in early 2020.” Florio writes that the Pats will have four options, “to re-sign Brady before he becomes a free agent, whether to let him become a free agent and then try to re-sign him, whether to not even try to re-sign him at all, or whether to apply the franchise tag.”

Florio writes that in the franchise tag scenario, Brady would have “a ton of leverage,” since the tag would pay him $32.4MM, the most ever on a tag. Florio speculates that the Patriots could be hesitant to pay him that much, and he wonders whether Brady will be willing to again take a discount like he has in the past. He writes that “other teams may start poking around agent Don Yee to see if Brady wants to make a late-career change of venue, and they may start throwing around numbers that Brady would not be able to refuse.” It’s all speculative at this point, but it’s fascinating to think about. Bill Belichick can be stubborn, but the thought of him letting Brady walk is still pretty hard to believe.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

Speaking of Belichick and Brady’s contract, signing Brady to a new deal “that will pay him upwards of $30M for his 43- and 44-year-old seasons gives Bill Belichick the vapors,” writes Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston. Curran writes that Brady wants an extension that ensures he retires with the Patriots but that “he’s been put off, mildly placated or — in the case of last year — downright disrespected with incentive-laden ‘sing for your supper’ incentive bonuses.” Curran seems to think that there’s real tension between the two sides, that Belichick isn’t too eager to commit anything major, and that Robert Kraft ultimately might end up intervening. Curran writes that his “feeling is that he’s going to let Kraft do this deal so that Belichick has plausible deniability in case Brady faceplants.” This will be an important situation to monitor moving forward.
The Dolphins fired offensive line coach Pat Flaherty earlier this week and replaced him with Dave DeGuglielmo, and DeGuglielmo has wasted no time retooling the unit. The “Dolphins made wholesale lineup changes in practice Tuesday,” to their offensive line, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. In DeGuglielmo’s first day as the offensive line coach, “rookie Michael Deiter and Will Holden took over the first team left and right guard spots, replacing Chris Reed and Jesse Davis,” Jackson writes. Davis kicked over to right tackle, sending Jordan Mills to the second team. DeGuglielmo received a lot of praise for his work as the Colts’ offensive line coach last year, and it was a surprise when he was ousted in January. He’s clearly taking charge in Miami, and it sounds like the only two locked in players on the Dolphins’ line are Laremy Tunsil at left tackle and Daniel Kilgore at center.
Potentially troubling news for the Bills, as center Mitch Morse is still in the concussion protocol, according to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic (Twitter link). Morse is one of the league’s best centers when healthy, but he’s dealt with concussion issues and other injuries in his last two seasons with the Chiefs. In 2018 he played in only 11 games, and in 2017 only seven. Buscaglia notes that Bills coach Sean McDermott wouldn’t comment “about the amount of concern they might have with Morse suffering a fourth documented concussion,” since the protocol won’t allow him to. The Bills had one of the worst offensive lines in football last year, and signing Morse to his huge four-year deal was supposed to help revamp the unit. Normally a concussion this time of year wouldn’t be big news, but given Morse’s lengthy history of concussion issues this could be something that lingers. It’ll be important to monitor how he progresses.

Dolphins Fire Pat Flaherty

July 29th, 2019 at 2:14pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins have fired offensive line coach Pat Flaherty, according to a team announcement. To take his place, the team has promoted analyst Dave DeGuglielmo.

It’s a surprising twist for a number of reasons, including timing. Flaherty was set to implement a new blocking system, but the Dolphins were unwilling to give him the length of training camp to get results.

DeGuglielmo and Flaherty worked together while with the Giants, but DeGuglielmo is now supplanting Flaherty as the ‘Fins OL guru. DeGuglielmo, 51, offers vast experience as an offensive line coach at both the collegiate and NFL level. He’s worked for Miami before, as he was the club’s line coach from 2009-11. Last year, he helped transform the Colts’ offensive line into one of the NFL’s best before his surprise ouster in January.

South Rumors: Colts, Panthers, Bucs, Saints

January 16th, 2019 at 9:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Colts parted ways with offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo earlier this week, a move which raised eyebrows around the NFL given the excellent play of Indianapolis’ front five in 2018. Head coach Frank Reich is reportedly searching for his “own guy” to coach the position, while the Colts also want someone who is “stronger at teaching fundamentals,” according to Stephen Holder of The Athletic (Twitter link). DeGuglielmo is more of a motivator than an instructor, per Holder. Either way, the Colts’ 2018 results are hard to dispute, as they ranked as a top-five club in both adjusted line yards and adjusted sack rate per Football Outsiders., while DeGuglielmo has historically performed well wherever he’s gone, according to research done by Justis Mosqueda of Optimum Scouting.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two South divisions:

The Panthers have hired Bills/Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell as their new defensive backs coach, the club announced. Fewell, who served as Buffalo’s interim head coach for seven games in 2009, worked with Carolina coach head coach Ron Rivera in Chicago in 2005. The Panthers still have Richard Rodgers in place as a secondary coach, but they’ve lost multiple defensive backs coach within the past year. Curtis Fuller resigned as the team’s secondary coach last summer, while assistant Jeff Imamura was fired as part of a housecleaning in early December.
Former Steelers wideout Antwaan Randle El will join the Buccaneers‘ coaching staff as an offensive assistant, the club announced today. New Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians coached Randle El — who is now embarking on his first NFL coaching gig — for one season (2010) with the Steelers. Kacy Rodgers, whose role with Tampa was up in the air, is officially the team’s defensive line coach, while former Browns special teams coordinator Amos Jones is in tow as assistant ST coach.
In addition to announcing the hiring of new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, the Jaguars have made a number of other coaching moves. Jason Rebrovich has been promoted to defensive line coach, Joe Danna is now Jacksonville’s safeties coach, and John Donovan was promoted to assistant running backs coach.
Before signing veteran defensive lineman Tyrunn Walker to help replace Sheldon Rankins, the Saints also worked out fellow DLs Jarvis Jenkins, Chris Okoye, and Sealver Siliga, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. The Colts also held a late season audition, taking a look at linebacker Richard Jarvis, per veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link).

Coaching Rumors: Colts, 49ers, Dolphins

January 15th, 2019 at 10:21am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts are letting offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo go elsewhere, sources tell Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Even though the Colts’ OL improved greatly in 2018, head coach Frank Reich wants to bring in his own guy, Garafolo hears. DeGuglielmo, who was originally selected by would-be coach Josh McDaniels, is being recommended by Reich to other coaches around the league.

The move comes as a surprise given the results that DeGuglielmo was able to get out of his group last season. However, Reich and DeGuglielmo were not on the same page. You can expect a healthy market for DeGuglielmo’s services and he shouldn’t be unemployed for long.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

Broncos defensive coordinator Joe Woods will interview with the 49ers on Tuesday, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. Woods is not expected to return under new head coach Vic Fangio, but he’s not receiving DC interest from other teams either. In addition to the SF interview, Woods has also spoken with the Redskins and Cardinals about positions on their staff.
New Jets coach Adam Gase says he did not ask for control of the 53-man roster (via Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald). He also says that he never requested that power with the Dolphins; rather, it was something offered up to him during negotiations with Miami.
Terry Robiskie is expected to become the Jaguars‘ new running backs coach, according to Alex Marvez of SiriusXM (on Twitter). Robiskie has played and coached the position before at the NFL level and the Jags apparently believe that he can get the most out of star rusher Leonard Fournette.