The Alabama head coach and former boss of New York Giants head coach Joe Judge recently spoke on the “Giants Huddle” podcast.
This past January, the New York Giants completed their third head-coaching search in four years. After the Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur projects didn’t work, Big Blue decided to take a different approach and hire someone that wasn’t an offensive nor defensive coordinator, but an individual who most recently worked in the lower profile special teams coordinator role.
Joe Judge entered the organization with a mostly unknown personality and attitude, but surely possessed a pair of astonishing references. Prior to his newest role, Judge worked as a special teams assistant for the University of Alabama and special teams assistant and eventually coordinator for the New England Patriots, serving under the Nick Saban and Bill Belichick regimes. Two of the most legendary in the business, to say the least.
And recently, the Bama coaching staff leader revealed much praise for his former employee on the “Giants Huddle” podcast.
“When Joe was here, he was a young guy, very bright, enthusiastic, great teacher, really good relationships with the players, had lots of leadership qualities about him because of the example that he set and the energy and the enthusiasm he had on a daily basis,” Saban said. “And he was really smart. He had a good understanding of football. So no surprise to me that Joe has gotten to this point in his career, and we certainly wish him well. He did a fantastic job here for us.”
Judge’s stint with the Crimson Tide lasted from 2009-11 and encompassed a national title win in both the first and final years of the tenure. He didn’t hit Foxborough until the 2012 campaign, which began an eight-year run with the organization. Judge earned three Super Bowl rings during his time with the Pats (Super Bowls 49, 51, and 53).
The newest head-coaching project for this organization will be a wait-and-see type of situation. Giants fans don’t know what they’ll get out of Judge, considering he’s never head coached at any level in the past. He won’t be calling the offensive plays either, which will be a little different experience. Shurmur did so in each of his two unsuccessful seasons with the organization.
Regardless of when the 2020 season commences, it’ll be interesting to witness the strengths Judge brings to the sidelines.
