BREAKING: New York Giants hiring Patriots’ WR coach Joe Judge to be new head coach

New York Giants, Joe Judge
Feb 4, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA; (Editors note: Caption correction) New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (right) and special teams coach Joe Judge prior to Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants, in a move of panic, have hired Joe Judge, the wide receiver coach of the New England Patriots to be their head coach moving forward.

According to Adam Schefter, this was a major reason Matt Rhule did not participate in the interview with the Giants, who seemingly stonewalled the Baylor program head before he could even make it to New Jersey.

According to Giants.com:

Judge, who turned 38 last week, has been coaching for 15 years, including the last eight with the New England Patriots. He was the team’s assistant special teams coach for three years and special teams coordinator for four. When Chad O’Shea left the Patriots following the 2018 season to become the Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator, Judge became the Patriots’ wide receivers coach.

Under Judge’s leadership in 2019, the Patriots 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 17th in kickoff returns with an average of 22.1 yards on 26 runbacks.

The Giants will be getting a young coach in Judge, who’s expected to lead the rebuild of the team and establish a winning culture, bred from the Patriots’ ranks. An interesting move, but it could pay off.