Report: Giants Hire Patriots Assistant Coach In Surprise Move

The New England Patriots lost special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach Joe Judge. The information was confirmed by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Judge is finalizing his deal with the New York Giants.

This happened right after Matt Rhule joined the Carolina Panthers. The Giants decided to move on with Philadelphia native Judge. The two sides began working on their contract on Monday night. That’s the same day Judge had an interview with the Giants.

Judge wasn’t expected to become a head coach with any NFL team. The Giants had requested a permission from the Dallas Cowboys to interview Jason Garrett. Judge is expected to replace Pat Shurmur and become the third full-time Giants head coach in five years.

Judge is a Mississippi State graduate and he attended Lansdale Catholic in Philadelphia. He is best known for his eight-year tenure with the Patriots. Judge won three titles with the Pats, and in 2019, he won the Patriots’ special-teams unit to a top-10 finish in kick and punt coverage while also coaching the team’s wideouts. He joined the team in 2012 as a special teams assistant. Three seasons into his tenure with the Patriots, Judge was promoted to STs coordinator for units that won Super Bowls in 2016 and 2018.

Prior to arriving in New England, Judge spent three seasons under Nick Saban as special teams assistant in Alabama. He won two national championships as part of the Crimson Tide. Judge began his full-time coaching career in 2008 at Birmingham-Southern. He coached the Cougars’ linebackers at that point.

We bet the New England Patriots have a replacement for Judge. They always have a backup plan, and that’s what they will do this time. Looking for an assistant coach is an easy task for the team. The Patriots will try to replace Judge almost instantly.

New England lost the wild-card game to the Tennessee Titans, and they are already planning their next season. The Patriots are all-in when it comes to winning games, and missing the chance to win a playoff game is not even an option. This will be their strongest motivation for the next NFL season.