Getty Patriots Special Teams Coordinator Joe Judge.
The upcoming offseason for the New England Patriots could see a lot more than just some big-name players departing. With Tom Brady’s future in doubt highlighting a core group of free agents that could be leaving town, there are also questions about assistant coaches departing.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is arguably the most sought-after candidate in the NFL among teams looking for a new coach next season. He has already been requested to interview with Cleveland, Carolina, and the New York Giants for the openings in all three places.
But it appears the Giants are also looking at another Patriots assistant coach: Special Teams Coordinator Joe Judge. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Giants have formally requested to interview Judge for the position along with McDaniels.
Giants requested permission to interview Patriots’ special teams coordinator Joe Judge for their head-coaching vacancy, per source. Other special teams coaches have made jump to HC; Judge could be next to do it.
In Judge’s coaching career, he began in college with Nick Saban at Alabama before making the leap to the NFL to work on Bill Belichick’s staff. He has excelled as a Special Teams Coordinator, piloting one of the league’s most elite units including role players like Matthew Slater, Nate Ebner, and adding Justin Bethel this year.
His biggest plus was adding the duties of wide receivers coach to his role this season, a similar move to what Baltimore coach John Harbaugh did before being hired there.
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Prominence Didn’t Happen Overnight
Upon adding wide receivers to his already hefty repertoire, Judge seemed to have cemented himself as a prime candidate for a head coaching position down the road. Given the Patriots had a revolving door at the position in his first year in the role, it wasn’t an easy task for Judge to tackle.
But in doing so, he helped a banged-up Julian Edelman record a career season while molding rookie Gunner Olszewski, Jakobi Meyers, and N’Keal Harry into shape. In a May article for USA Today, Henry McKenna forecast Judge’s future head coaching candidacy given his multi-faceted abilities.
Here’s a quote from Judge in that story about taking on multiple responsibilities:
“I think No. 1, you have to be a good teacher,” Judge said. “That’s what the players need before anything: to learn and get the information that allows them to do their job aggressively and effectively […]
“We talk pretty fluidly between offense, defense, and special teams to make sure I was on the same page, so there’s been some carryover in my previous seven seasons being here. Any chance I’ve had to learn ball outside of what my direct avenue was, I’ve always taken that,” Judge said. “… There’s a lot to learn.”
Not the First Time
Earlier this season, Judge was tabbed as a potential coaching candidate for the Washington Redskins after the team fired Jay Gruden. Judge was given the ninth-best odds to land that coaching job, a list made before Ron Rivera was fired by Carolina and subsequently hired in Washington.
This also isn’t the first time Judge was reportedly preparing to leave New England. When McDaniels was named the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Judge was ready to follow his colleague before the whole deal fell through. That same circumstance could play out again, however, if McDaniels were to depart for real after this year.
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