Giants offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo tests positive for COVID-19
Dave DeGuglielmo, shown here when he was the Jets' offensive line coach in 2012, was hired to coach the offensive line after Giants coach Joe Judge fired Marc Colombo earlier this season. Credit: NEWSDAY/Joe Epstein
Offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo watched the first Giants walk-through and practice of 2021 on Friday in the most 2020 way imaginable: from isolation, through a tablet positioned behind the line of scrimmage, after testing positive for COVID-19.
New year, same season.
"It’s a different deal, but hey, it’s something we’ve been able to become accustomed to," coach Joe Judge said.
And not just the Giants. The Cowboys, their upcoming opponent, canceled in-person practice on Friday and moved to a fully virtual format after safety Darian Thompson, a former Giants draft pick, tested positive. He and defensive tackle Justin Hamilton were added to the reserve/COVID-19 list and will not play on Sunday. The winner of the game has a chance to claim the NFC East title.
The Giants were notified of DeGuglielmo’s positive test on Thursday night. He and two potential close contacts — one of them assistant offensive line coach Ben Wilkerson and the other a team employee who is not a coach — immediately were isolated, per COVID-19 protocols. Wilkerson was cleared on Friday and will coach the unit on Sunday; the other staffer was deemed a high-risk contact with DeGuglielmo and must quarantine for several days.
The Giants went about their business as usual (or as close to it as can be in these pandemic times) with on-field activities and meetings in their fieldhouse, where players can be spaced out. All of the players wore masks and face shields in the building on Friday, Judge said.
"We deemed it safe to open the building," he said. "We have not been a club that has been slow to delay or change its schedule at any point this year based on a positive."
Because the team worked remotely on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday this week and avoided close contact on Wednesday, Judge said, "all information pointed us in the direction that today was safe to bring the players in and continue normal Friday prep."
That meant meetings, which DeGuglielmo led virtually. Other coaches pitched in with the hands-on work during practice until Wilkerson was cleared and able to return midway through the workout.
"We have a bunch of guys rolling through right now," guard Kevin Zeitler said of the coaches who worked with the unit on Friday. "Whoever Judge decides to stick out there with us, we know it’s going to be good . . . Anyone can come in and help and work with us."
Wilkerson, who has been with the Giants since 2018, will be the third different game coach for the offensive line this season. DeGuglielmo replaced Marc Colombo midway through the season.
So what exactly does an offensive line coach do during a game and how much will they miss DeGuglielmo?
"You come to the sideline, they tell you what you did wrong and they fix it," Zeitler said. "Obviously, it sucks. [DeGuglielmo] is the guy in charge, he has the full thing and whatnot, but like I’ve been saying, whoever is out there helping us Sunday, they’re going to be able to work with us and we’ll be able to get everything done that needs to get done."
DeGuglielmo is the third Giants coach to test positive for COVID-19. Two weeks ago, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and offensive assistant Stephen Brown tested positive. Garrett, like DeGuglielmo, was able to participate and even run meetings virtually during his time away from the team.
In DeGuglielmo’s case, that meant interacting with his players through that tablet at practice. Asked if they were receiving coaching points from DeGuglielmo during practice through video, Zeitler laughed.
"Of course," he said. "Hey, after this year, we’re used to everything."
"Our guys are just so used to change at this point, they just keep on moving," Judge said. "That’s really the way we want to build this team anyway, to adjust on the fly. That’s in-game adjustments, off-the-field adjustments. I addressed the team in a meeting and there weren’t a lot of heads looking around like ‘What’s the answer? What are we gonna do?’ They know we have a plan, we have something in place, and we just go out there and start executing.
"Really, we try to keep the day as normal as can be."
Normal being relative for both 2020 and the start of 2021.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
