The New York Giants were blown away by New England Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge to the degree that Matt Rhule — a proven head coach on the college level with two separate programs — decided not to appear for his interview with the team on Tuesday.
Instead, the Giants opted to hire Judge as their next head coach instead of matching the Panthers’ offer to Rhule.
So, who is Joe Judge? Here are six quick things to know:
Judge is a young Philadelphian
Judge is 38 (sound familiar?) and hails from Philadelphia. So, he’s approximately the same age Ben McAdoo was when the Giants hired him. And, like McAdoo, he’s also never been a head coach and is from Pennsylvania. If you’re not impressed, I understand.
Judge played college ball at Mississippi State
Judge was a backup quarterback and holder at MSU from 2000-2004 and then joined Sylvester Croom’s staff as a graduate assistant for three years after graduating. He then went on to coach the linebackers at Birmingham-Southern in 2008 before landing at Alabama as their special team coach for three seasons under Nick Saban, where he earned two National Championship rings.
Success with the Patriots
Judge was hired as the New England Patriots’ special teams assistant by Saban’s good buddy, Bill Belichick, in 2012. He was elevated to coordinator in 2015. With the Pats, Judge was an integral part of three Super Bowl championships and four appearances.
Belichick loves him
“He’s an excellent coach,” Belichick said of Judge recently. “Joe has done a great job of organizing that as well as taking on some other things with the offense, in particular receivers, so he’s done a great job. He’s an excellent coach.”
Can he buck a negative trend?
Judge has a tough road to climb as few assistants from Belichick’s head coaching tree have had success in the NFL, and that includes Saban. Josh McDaniels, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini and Jim Schwartz all failed as head coaches. The jury is still out on Matt Patricia, Bill O’Brien and Brian Flores.
Will Judge be the outlier?
Judge is a disciplined, intelligent man
West Point? Check. Mississippi State physical education teacher? Check. PhD in education? Upcoming.
