New York Giants: Why we should love Joe Judge’s approach

New York Giants, Joe Judge
Jan 9, 2020; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Introductory press conference of New York Giants new head coach Joe Judge at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports

When the New York Giants unofficially named Joe Judge their head coach, the consensus was that they rushed the decision and were only firing back at the Carolina Panthers for hiring Matt Rhule. However, Judge impressed in his opening press conference, detailing his approach and why toughness is one of the most critical factors on a football team.

Aside from toughness, Judge indicated his evaluation process would be thorough and detailed. Every player would be looked at as a multi-positional player, filling in on the punt team if they were called upon. His approach reminds me of a younger Tom Coughlin — no-nonsense, disciplined, and ready to extract the best out of every individual.

In an interview with the NY POST, Judge stated:

Q: What makes a good leader?
A: Someone who’s willing to put their own personal motives aside and do what’s best for the team and work as hard as they can.

Q: Why do you think you can get to know what makes each player tick?
A: Well, first off it’s the willingness to invest time with a person and develop a relationship to understand what makes him tick, and I think I’m very committed to finding out about the players I’m gonna coach, to know inside what motivates ’em.

Q: Do you have a lot of rules?
A: We’ll have rules and structure, I’m not gonna expand on all those right now. But we’ll have parameters in place that the team will know that they can operate under, and all with the mission of keeping us on the same path.

The New York Giants have a true leader in Joe Judge:

Specifically, Judge’s focus on establishing a culture and fundamentalistic approach towards winning make him a great coaching candidate. He also stated in the interview that anything that deters the team from winning will not be tolerated, and his rules/structure will strictly reinforce that reality.

So far, I like the way he speaks and how serious he is about keeping his players in line and progressing. His desire to learn the ins and outs of each player is a major positive.