Report: Joe Judge 'Blew Everyone Away' During His 'Tremendous' Interview With Giants
To much surprise to those outside New England, special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach Joe Judge landed a head-coaching gig with the New York Giants.
As a Patriots staff member that is not very well known to the common fan, especially those that don't follow the Patriots rigorously, Judge landed a job that he wasn't expected to get. But how was he able to land a head-coaching job in the Big Apple with one of the most popular franchises in the NFL? Outside of a strong recommendation from Bill Belichick, he also reportedly had one helluva interview with the Giants.
"And Judge backed up the praise with what one source called a 'tremendous' interview," Ralph Vacchiano of SNY wrote Wednesday evening. "'He blew everyone away,' another source said. He still wasn't thought of as a strong candidate outside of the building, but clearly Mara, Gettleman and Tisch felt differently. Any reservations they had, said a source, had to do with his age and inexperience. But they all felt he had the makings of a great coach.
"In fact, they were so taken by Judge, according to a source, that they called his agent to tell him how 'impressive' he was during his interview."
It was no surprise to those aware of Judge's ability as a coach that he was hired by New York. His knowledge from being under coaches like Belichick and Alabama's Nick Saban, his natural feel for the game and with his personality are some of the reasons why Belichick for quite some time had met regularly with Judge to go over program-building and how to be a head coach.
“Joe (Judge) has prepared for this moment and is ready for the challenge of leading our team,” said Giants general manager Dave Gettleman on Wednesday. “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.”
In the end, as Vacchiano reports, the Giants feel they got the right guy. Though they may have not known that even a couple days prior to the interview.
"'It doesn't matter how we got here,' one source said," Vacchiano wrote. "'We feel we got the right guy. And I think everyone will be happy in the end.'"
Judge has earned praise from Belichick and from Patriots beat reporters who have covered the team for several years. If you would like to read more about New York's new head coach, click here.
