What Advice Did Bill Belichick Give Joe Judge? 'Just Be Yourself'

As someone who has been on the staff of two of the greatest football coaches of all-time (Nick Saban and Bill Belichick), Joe Judge has no doubt learned quite a bit from his time at Alabama, along with his time with the New England Patriots.

We know that Belichick learned early on that Judge was head-coaching material, which is why he reportedly met with Judge regularly to go over program building and how to be a head coach. But when it came down to Judge actually taking a head-coaching job in the NFL, what kind of advice did New England's future Hall-of-Fame head coach give the now-Giants head coach?

"I'm going to be honest with you, the only advice I sought from (Bill Belichick) for this opportunity, he told me to just be yourself, and that's all I know how to be," Judge said during his introductory press conference with the Giants Thursday afternoon. "I think one of the things people ask me a lot is 'you've worked for Coach Saban, Coach Belichick, what makes you different?' look, I'm myself. I'm going to be myself every time.

"If I'm anything else, everyone is going to see straight through it. And if you lie to the team, you're going to lose the team immediately. So I'm always going to be myself, and that's a little bit different than other people, and that's fine. I'm not trying to emulate anyone I've ever worked for. I'm trying to take what I've learned from them, and match it with my own belief structure and do it in my own personality."

That's good advice from Belichick, albeit just two words. Being yourself is something Belichick has done during his time in New England, which is part of the reason why he has won six championships over the past two decades. Patriots players and coaches know exactly what to expect from their head coach, and do their job in a respectful, hard-working manner, just like their head coach goes about his job on a daily basis.

Having that kind of straightforward, hardworking attitude may not resonate with Giants players at first when Judge takes full control of the ship. For those who don't want to hop on board - they will be cut, traded away, etc. But for those who buy into Judge's program that he has brought to New York, they may very well find success much like some of the dedicated players have in New England.