Teachers, Former NFL Players, and Good People: A Deeper Look at Joe Judge's New Assistant Coaching Staff

NFL head coaching experience, teaching experience, and a history of winning are all common staples among Joe Judge's first NFL head coaching staff. Here's a look at what we know about the Giants new assistant coaches and how they meet Judge's stated criteria.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Feb 5, 2020 11:37 AM EST

When Joe Judge was introduced January 9 as the new Giants head coach, hired, one of the most important and immediate priorities being the type of staff he wanted around him and the players.

"My priority is to put the right men around these players that they can come to work every day, they can be coached hard, and they can be taught," he said.

"I want good people. Before anything, if you’re going to work in an organization, you’re a good person. I don’t want any alternative agendas,

"I don’t want someone who looks fancy in front of the screen that can say it with a lot of different sales lines. I want teachers. I want old school people who can get to our players and give them the mental image of what it’s supposed to look like. ... The margins of error in this league are too small. You cannot get by with some magic scheme or new gimmick or think you’ve reinvented the wheel."

Fast forward to nearly a month later, and Judge, who, as promised, took his time in vetting out various candidates for his staff, has completed that process. And while time will tell if he's indeed put the right people in place, there are several things to like about the staff Judge has put together.

"I’ve more than done my research on everybody on this staff, including the guys I’ve worked with," Judge said in a statement released by the team announcing the new coaching staff.

"No stone has been unturned. I’m very excited about the group we have here. I know they’re going to bring a lot to this organization. I know they’re going to be a great asset to the players they’re going to coach.”

The Order of The Coaching Hires is Very Telling

We probably won't know the exact order in which the assistant coaches were hired. Still, based on how the reports came out, it's interesting to note that the assistant coaches who will be responsible for the defensive backs and offensive line were among the last of the hires made.

That is a good thing because it indicates that Judge took his time and carefully vetted out candidates, not falling in love with the first guy with whom he met.

Judge, if asked, will probably deny the coincidence, but it's also telling that the hires for the offensive line and defensive backs position groups, the two units that struggled the most on the team last year, are former NFL players.

In taking this approach, the Giants won't have to devote precious salary cap dollars on a guy who's on his last legs to serve as a veteran mentor.

There is a Lot of Head Coaching Experience

Four of Judge's staff--offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, offensive assistant Derek Dooley, outside linebackers coach/senior assistant Bret Bielema and tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens--have prior head coaching experience.

Dooley (six years) and Bielema (10 years) gained their head coaching experience at the college ranks while Garrett(10 years) and Kitchens (1 year) at the NFL level.

Among those former head coaches, they've been through the ups and downs and can act as a sounding board to Judge, a first-time head coach on any number of situations. Garrett, as the former Cowboys head coach, took his teams to the playoffs, even though they never advanced.

Kitchens, in his one season as Browns head coach, went through more downs than ups, including having to manage several personalities among the player ranks.

Bielema experienced the top of the mountain as the head coach of Wisconsin, with whom he won three Big Ten Championship teams. In contrast, Dooley, although never winning a championship as a head coach, is the son of legendary head coach Vince Dooley, whose Georgia Bulldogs won the National championship in 1980.

Unlike some new head coaches who think they have all the answers, it's refreshing to see Judge admit to what he knows and what he doesn't.

By surrounding himself with former head coaches and perhaps even guys who aspire to be NFL head coaches again at some point, Judge has created a knowledge base that should help him correctly manage just about any scenario that pops up.

He can also call upon that experience to determine how to build a program that works for the Giants rather than merely copying what Bill Belichick ran in New England, which would have been taking the easy way out.

“Everybody brings a different type of experience to the job," Judge said. "I didn’t set out to hire anyone with former head coaching experience. That ended up being a plus of what different guys brought to their area.”

And make no mistake about it; it's going to help him navigate his rookie season as a head coach.

There are a Few Familiar Faces on the Staff...and That's a Good Thing

Change can sometimes be unsettling for a football team, especially one that's relatively young as the Giants. So when you have some holdover from the previous coaching staff, that can help with the transition.

The holdovers include Tyke Tolbert (receivers), Thomas McGaughey and Tom Quinn (special teams), Anthony Blevins (assistant defensive backs), Ben Wilkerson (assistant offensive line), and Bobby Blick (offensive quality control).

Why is this a good thing? Because again, it brings a different set of perspectives to the table, which can be weighed while determining which direction to pursue. For example, Nick Saban's way of running practice might be to run 12-15 different drill periods, which those coaches with ties to Saban will have familiarity.

But those coaches from systems with which Judge isn't familiar might put more of an emphasis on working differently, such as having ten different sessions but increasing the amount of time spent on each one.

There are a Lot of Teachers

By nature, a coach is supposed to be a teacher. Just because someone is a coach, that doesn't make that person a good teacher or communicator. For proof of that, go back and look at all those times when a unit or at least a cluster of players looked like they had no clue what they were supposed to do.

Judge, in adding people who come from the schools of Bill Belichick and Nick Saban, just so happened to pick people with degree backgrounds in education (which he has) or social studies, which is a combination of various fields of social sciences and the humanities.

For example, inside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer has a bachelor's degree in physical education and a master's in higher education administration; offensive line coach Marc Colombo holds a degree in sociology, and running backs coach Burton Burns has a bachelor's degree in education.

Offensive assistant Derek Dooley is no stranger to presenting and simplifying complex information as part of the big picture given that he holds a law degree and was once a practicing lawyer.

And Anthony Blevins has a master’s degree in instructional technology and pursued a doctorate in instructional systems and workforce development.

Those diverse backgrounds were no doubt attractive to Judge in choices for his staff, and are certainly an encouraging indicator as to how well each man might potentially fare when teaching their respective units.

“The first thing I was prioritizing was good coaches who had a deep concern for the players that they were going to coach,” Judge said. “It has to start with the relationship from the coach to the player and understanding that we’re working together.

"Next thing I was prioritizing was good teachers. We had to find guys who can paint that mental picture for a player and find a way to tap into how they learn and get the most out of them. To me, it’s a big trust factor with the guys I have on the staff."

There are Former NFL Players at Key Positions...

In the past, players have spoken about the benefits of having a coach who once played the game at the NFL level, and the unanimous response is that it does make a difference.

Why? Because a guy who has been there, done that brings an entirely different perspective to the table in how he teaches the position. Whether it's a technique or a different element of the film to watch, having a former NFL player as a coach can be a significant advantage.

The Giants have several former NFL players on their staff, including offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, offensive line coaches Marc Colombo and Ben Wilkerson, and defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson.

Considering the Giants didn't get as much out of their offense last year as they'd hope, how much of a difference might Garrett make in designing game plans if he puts on his quarterback glasses?

How much more on top of things will Colombo and Wilkerson be with the offensive linemen's technique and in helping them diagnose and block those troublesome stunts?

And how big is Henderson's NFL playing experience going to be when trying to teach a young group of defensive backs that at times looked lost, particularly in zone coverage, or who gaffed in press coverage?

...And Even Some Former College Players from Major Programs

They also have coaches who played for major college programs (and at positions they are either going to coach for the Giants or need to prepare their players to focus on playing against).

The list includes inside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer (tight end, Alabama), Freddie Kitchens (quarterback, Alabama), Tyke Tolbert (receiver, LSU), Burton Burns (fullback, Nebraska), and Derek Dooley (receiver, Virginia).

That collective experience is what Judge was looking for, and it should pay off handsome dividends in terms of helping the players at the various positions better understand the roles of those around them so that they know where their specific roles fall into the big picture.