When the San Francisco 49ers brought back linebacker Dre Greenlaw this offseason, it was hard not to circle the Week 17 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles for a number of reasons.
For starters, the Niners eliminated the Eagles from the playoffs last season, avenging the infamous NFC Championship contest when Brock Purdy got injured, and the Niners subsequently got pummeled.
Of course, the regular-season matchup the following season between the two teams will always be remembered for the altercation on the sideline between Greenlaw and Eagles head of security Dom DiSandro (AKA "Big Dom").
After Greenlaw put a big hit on wide receiver DeVonta Smith, DiSandro felt the need to insert himself into the situation by putting his hands on Greenlaw. The linebacker proceeded to put his fist in DiSandro's face. Both Greenlaw and DiSandro were ejected from the game, which obviously hurt one side more than the other. Losing an integral defensive player is hardly the same as losing some guy on the sideline who serves as head coach Nick Sirianni's emotional support.
It ended up not costing San Francisco, as they dominated the rest of the contest, ruining Philly's season in the process. The sad thing is we may not get to see a rematch of the heavyweight bout between the two bruisers this season.
If the Greenlaw-DiSandro lore ends this season, and it won't be Greenlaw's fault
Former NFL player Emmanuel Acho recently went on a podcast and said that, when he was a player, he rear-ended a car and contacted his team's head of security, who told him that he was going to send another police officer to the scene. That officer would then say the other driver was at fault.
Acho did not say what team he was on at the time or who the head of security was, but he played for the Eagles, and many speculated he was referring to DiSandro. Now, the NFL is reportedly investigating DiSandro based on Acho's comments.
Time will tell if these rumors carry any weight or not, but if the NFL did choose to suspend DiSandro, it could mean he and Greenlaw wouldn't get to square off again later this season.
Maybe that's for the best. The two sides already dislike each other enough, so they don't need a head of security to get the rivalry juices flowing. No matter what, it will be an interesting story to monitor because of the previous history between Greenlaw and "Big Dom."
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