Poor showing vs. Denver costs Patriots offensive line coach his job

One day after the New England Patriots lost to the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game, a game that saw Tom Brady hit 20 times by Denver defenders according to the official game book (one reporter counted 25 after re-watching the game), the Patriots parted ways with their offensive line coach.

Via multiple reports, Dave DeGuglielmo was sent packing, just two years after he was hired by Bill Belichick.

DeGuglielmo, a Massachusetts native who replaced legendary Patriots coach Dante Scarnecchia in 2014 after the latter retired, dealt with a number of injuries among his players this year. Starting left tackle Nate Solder was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 14 with a torn biceps, Bryan Stork, who finished last season as the starting center, missed the first half of the season dealing with the linger effects of concussion, and utility interior lineman Ryan Wendell missed nearly the entire season as well.

It wasn’t just injuries DeGuglielmo had to manage, but rookies as well – New England started the season with three at the interior spots: undrafted David Andrews at center, and fourth-rounders Shaq Mason and Tre’ Jackson at guard.

In all, New England used 13 different starting lineups for the offensive line.

Last year, DeGuglielmo’s first with the Patriots, Brady was sacked 21 times, but that number jumped to 38 this year.

Belichick rarely fires coaches; over the last seven or eight years, those who have left his staff either took a different opportunity with another team or retired. DeGuglielmo has now been fired by three of the four teams in the AFC East, having been let go by the Miami Dolphins (2009-11) and the New York Jets (2012). His old boss with the Jets, Rex Ryan, is now in Buffalo, so it’s possible for DeGuglielmo to be employed by all four clubs in the division.