New York Giants head coach Joe Judge doesn’t seem too worried about losing his job. At least, that’s the perception that he would seemingly like to give off. Despite the Giants being on their way to a fifth straight losing season, Judge insists that they organization is moving in the right direction and doing things “the right way.”
Judge’s statements about the future of the Giants
Joe Judge asked if he’s been told by ownership he would be back next year. Says he’s “never going to comment” on his own or anyone else’s hypothetical future. Never. #giants
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) December 13, 2021
So … Joe Judge was asked to expand on what his reasons were for thinking his program was headed in right direction. Gave 6+ minute answer and mentioned (among other things)…
— Young players turning corner
— Having right guys (team-first guys) in place
— Developed a culture
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) December 13, 2021
The subject came up when the media questioned Judge’s future and the current direction of the team – reasonable topics considering the recent uncompetitive losses and the general state of affairs. But Judge hasn’t commented on if he’ll be back next year. He’s only said that the Giants are still headed in the right direction, in spite of all the evidence otherwise.
His reasons for believing this? Young players turning the corner, having the right kind of players, developing a culture, and the way the team fights and prepares.
This, of course, isn’t going to win Judge any fans at this point.
The Giants indeed have some young players turning the corner, such as Azeez Ojulari and Xavier McKinney. But currently, their talent is wasted in losing efforts because the team overall isn’t talented and well-coached enough to compete. They may have team-first players, but that hasn’t been enough to make up for lack of football talent compared to other teams.
And the only culture to develop under Judge has been one of losing. The team’s current standing of 4 wins is far from good enough to talk about building a culture this season.
It’s understandable why Judge is making statements like this, of course. He’s pitching his narrative to ownership, that he should keep his job after this season.
But, as the wheels fall off more and more in 2021, it looks less and less likely that a future GM after Dave Gettleman will see it worthwhile to keep Judge around.