New York Giants Officially Hire Joe Judge as New Head Coach

Joe Judge – © USA TODAY Sports

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NEW YORK GIANTS OFFICIALLY HIRE JOE JUDGE AS NEW HEAD COACH…
The New York Giants officially announced that they have hired New England Patriots Special Teams Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach Joe Judge as the team’s new head coach, the 19th in team history. Judge was interviewed by the Giants on Monday by team President/Chief Executive Officer John Mara, General Manager Dave Gettleman, and Vice President of Football Operations/Assistant General Manager Kevin Abrams at the team’s headquarters in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He then met with team Chairman/Executive Vice President Steve Tisch on Tuesday in Providence, Rhode Island.

Judge will be formally introduced at an afternoon press conference on Thursday.

The 38-year old Judge has held mainly special teams titles with the Patriots since 2012, including special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach (2019), special teams coordinator (2015-2018), and special teams assistant (2012-2014). He has also served as University of Alabama special teams assistant/football analyst (2009-2011) and Birmingham-Southern College special teams/linebackers coach (2008).

“I am humbled and honored,” Judge said in a team press release. “I want to thank John Mara, Steve Tisch, Dave Gettleman, and Kevin Abrams for this opportunity. Over the past couple of days we had great conversations about where this team is and where it is headed and how we are going to get there. My job is to lead our players and coaches. The mission is clear, to win games. There is a process to reaching that objective, and we will implement that process and work that process starting today.”

“Joe has prepared for this moment and is ready for the challenge of leading our team,” said Gettleman. “His beliefs and principles are all about the team. Because of his background with special teams working under (New England Patriots Head Coach) Bill Belichick, he has had the experience of evaluating and managing the entire roster. Can’t wait to work with him.”

The Giants ended up interviewing four other head-coaching candidates: Dallas Cowboys Defensive Backs Coach/Defensive Passing Game Coordinator Kris Richard last Thursday, former Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy last Friday, and Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale last Saturday. McCarthy was hired as the new head coach of the Dallas Cowboys on Monday.

“This was the deepest group of quality candidates I can recall, and Joe is as impressive a candidate as I have interviewed,” Mara said. “We met with Joe on Monday. We did have some other candidates lined up to speak with, but Joe had established the threshold at that point. He knows what winning looks like and should look like. His exposure and experience in New England and Alabama have helped shape his philosophy of building a winning program and culture. We are thankful that he has accepted the responsibility to lead our team.”

“We had a great conversation, and Joe articulated his vision of leadership and team building,” Tisch said. “He clearly learned some valuable lessons in both those areas while working with Bill Belichick and (University of Alabama Head Coach) Nick Saban. He is an impressive young leader, and as we said last week, he will have the full support of ownership to get us where we want to be.”

“Joe has done an outstanding job,” said Belichick. “He’s an excellent coach. He understands the game well, works extremely hard and is a very good teacher of fundamentals. Joe picks up concepts and coaching points quickly. He is an exceptional leader and one of the best coaches I have been around. He has been responsible for coaching units comprised of nearly every player on the roster. That requires an ability to handle many moving parts, make constant adjustments and immediate decisions. I appreciate Joe’s many contributions to our staff and team and wish him well.”

“Joe did a fantastic job for our program early on in our tenure in Tuscaloosa,” said Saban. “He went on to have a lot of success on Bill’s staff in New England. Joe is one of the brightest young coaches in our profession, and I think he will do a tremendous job as the head coach of the New York Giants. They are getting an extremely smart football coach who is very loyal, organized and diligent about getting the job done. We wish Joe and his entire family the best of luck with the Giants.”