The New York Giants took a unique approach when it came to building relationships via the virtual offseason program.
It’s always a difficult task entering your first season as an NFL head coach. But to do it virtually? As Jon Taffer of Bar Rescue says, “That’s no joke.”
The New York Giants hired Joe Judge to be their 19th head coach in franchise history back in January, and when he earned the job, the 38-year-old probably didn’t think he’d have to spend so much time using the Zoom video chat platform.
Yet, here we are. With a global pandemic affecting this offseason, Judge had to prepare his players for the campaign as well as play a role in building relationships via a virtual setting. And in order to do that, the team actually took a unique approach.
Throughout the program, players and coaches had to introduce their wives and/or kids to Zoom calls and let them interact with everyone.
“It really kind of opened it, when everybody’s going through different things, different challenges, and that brought a little insight into what everybody’s situation is,” Judge told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. “Like, ‘Hey, man, tomorrow, you’re up — bring your wife and kids, everybody wants to meet them.’ That was it, and it worked out great, it really did. It was fun watching everyone interact, and it was important, we thought, to bridge those gaps, to get to know everyone.”
Not only do the returning players have to become accustomed to working with the newbies on the roster, but also the individuals on this mostly new coaching staff. Almost everyone on the staff has come from outside the organization, including Judge and his offensive and defensive coordinators — Jason Garrett and Patrick Graham, respectively.
