4 Bobby Johnson replacements the NY Giants can hire as new offensive line coach

Once the 2023 regular season concluded, the most anticipated dismissal from the NY Giants coaching staff took place on Black Monday.

Most people woke up to the news that the Giants fired offensive line coach Bobby Johnson after two seasons with the team. Johnson was a friend of Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who followed him from the Buffalo Bills to East Rutherford.

Unfortunately for the Giants and for Johnson, the offensive line ranked near the bottom of the league in both seasons he was at the helm. Evan Neal regressed as a second-year player. Tyre Phillips struggled in training camp, got waived, went to the Philadelphia Eagles, came back and looked even better. Justin Pugh, fresh off his couch, was immediately inserted into the starting role at left tackle, then left guard, and was already the second-best offensive lineman at times.

These were just several of the indictments on Johnson’s coaching abilities and it was why fans all over were screaming for his head and his job all season long. On Monday morning, Giants fans got what they wanted. So, who could Coach Dabes bring in next? We have four candidates in mind:

4. Carmen Bricillo, Raiders offensive line coach

We’ll start with the name that is making headlines early this week, as the Giants will interview Raiders offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo for the vacancy.

Bricillo was the offensive line coach for the New England Patriots in 2021 before he joined Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas in 2022 and stayed for Antonio Pierce’s tenure

The Raiders offensive line was ranked by Pro Football Focus in the Top 10 towards the end of the season. The offensive line of the Raiders allowed a total of 40 sacks to their quarterbacks in 2023, 24 of those were to rookie Aidan O’Connell, who took over midseason for Jimmy Garoppolo, who had been taken down 14 times before being benched.

In comparison to what the Giants quarterbacks took in 2023, those numbers are drastically better than what we saw all year long in East Rutherford with 85 sacks. Change was clearly needed and Bricillo could make a big impact for this team.

3. Dave DeGuglielmo, former Giants offensive line coach

If Dave DeGuglielmo’s name sounds familiar to people, it should, because he’s been a previous assistant coach with the Giants before. DeGuglielmo was the Giants assistant offensive line coach from 2004-2008 on Tom Coughlin’s staff. Then in 2020, after Joe Judge fired Marc Colombo midseason as fhe Giants offensive line coach, DeGuglielmo came in and replaced him for the rest of the season.

After 2020, he left to become the offensive line coach for Louisiana Tech, followed by being the offensive line coach in 2022 for Boston College. He wasn’t in football anywhere for the 2023 season, but could a return to MetLife be in the cards?

Daboll and DeGuglielmo also worked together during their time together with the Patriots, as Daboll was the tight ends coach when DeGuglielmo was the New England OL coach from 2014-2015. Maybe a third stint for the 55-year old DeGuglielmo could be what the Giants line needs to help get it turned around.

2. Dwayne Ledford, Atlanta Falcons offensive line coach

One of the very first firings of Black Monday was the dismissal of Arthur Smith from the Falcons head coaching role. Smith was there for three seasons, but went 21-30 in that time. With Smith fired, his staff will likely be looking for work elsewhere, which is where the Giants and Daboll could look at getting one of their assistants in offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford.

The Falcons offensive line was also ranked near the top of the league - Pro Football Focus had Atlanta’s offensive line ranked sixth towards the end of the year. Before he was on Smith’s staff in Atlanta, Ledford was the Louisville offensive line coach and offensive coordinator. Before then, he was the offensive line coach for North Carolina State for three seasons. Ledford seems to be a choice many feel the Giants should consider.

If several of the media members are suggesting the Giants look into adding Ledford as their offensive line coach, then it would probably be in Daboll’s best interests to look into his availability. We'll see if he brings him in for an interview.

1. Mike Munchak, former Steelers, Broncos offensive line coach

Of the people on this list, nobody is more prominent and has a resume that states NFL Hall of Famer like Mike Munchak does. He was a Hall of Fame offensive lineman. When he coached an offensive line, his units were very good too.

Munchak last coached for the Broncos as their offensive line coach back in 2021 and hasn’t coached in the NFL in the last two seasons. However, there were reports before the season that Munchak might look to get back into coaching in 2024.

Munchak did some consulting work over the summer at the training camp for the Los Angeles Rams, which led people to wonder if Munchak will get back into the game. If Munchak is available, Daboll needs to see if he’s interested in the job. He should offer Munchak a blank check if needed. He’s the most qualified candidate out there.