Giants Officially Name Joe Judge as Head Coach
The Giants made it official Thursday, naming 38-year-old Joe Judge as the franchise’s 19th head coach in its history.
“I am humbled and honored,” Judge said in a team-issued statement announcing his hiring. “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.”
Judge replaces Pat Shurmur, who was dismissed on December 30 following a 4-12 season and a 9-23 two-year stint. The team will introduce him at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
“Joe has prepared for this moment and is ready for the challenge of leading our team,” said Gettleman, the Giants’ general manager. “His beliefs and principles are all about the team. Because of his background with special teams working under Bill Belichick, he has had the experience of evaluating and managing the entire roster. Can’t wait to work with him.”
Judge, who turned 38 on New Year’s Eve, has been coaching for 15 years, including the last eight with the New England Patriots, his first NFL coaching assignment.
He was one of five candidates from a group that included Mike McCarthy since hired by Dallas; Kris Richard; Don Martindale; and Eric Bieniemy to interview for the Giants opening.
“This was the deepest group of quality candidates I can recall, and Joe is as impressive a candidate as I have interviewed,” said team president John Mara.
“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.”
Judge began as a special teams assistant on Bill Belichick’s staff and was promoted to special teams coordinator in 2015 following Scott O’Brien’s retirement in 2015. As a member of the Patriots coaching staff, Judge helped the team win Super Bowls in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
“Joe has done an outstanding job," Belichick said via the Giants web site. "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.”
Under Judge’s leadership in 2019, New England finished ninth in the NFL in three significant special teams categories: punt return (8.0-yard average) and punt (6.3) and kickoff coverage (20.9).
They were also 17th in kickoff returns with an average of 22.1 yards on 26 runbacks despite having gone through four different kickers due to injury.
Judge’s most challenging task was in trying to help coach up the Patriots receivers after injuries hit the group hard. Under his leadership, Julian Edelman, the Super Bowl LIII MVP, caught 100 passes and led the team with six touchdown receptions.
This is the first head coaching assignment for Judge, who was born in Philadelphia and whose father Joseph played football for both Temple University and the Hamilton Tigercats of the CFL.
Judge played at Mississippi State from 2000-04, earning three letters. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant from 2005-07.
From there, he served as the special teams/linebackers coach at Birmingham-Southern in 2008 before moving on to Alabama, where, as a member of Nick Saban’s staff, he helped the team win BCS titles in 2009 and 2011.
“Joe did a fantastic job for our program early on in our tenure in Tuscaloosa," Saban said. "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.”
Judge, who has been pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Education from Mississippi State, and his wife, Amber, a former Mississippi State soccer player, have four children.
