By Michael Stewart/@golferbad
The moment the New York Giants hired Joe Judge as their new Head Coach, I had a sense that this was the right move hiring a young fresh no-nonsense coach instead of bringing in a re-thread Head Coach who has more experience, but also more failures along the way.
Joe Judge wasn’t the Giants first choice during the interviewing process (Matt Rhule was the Giants #1 target), but when the Giants were blind-sided by Rhule, they quickly reached back out to Joe Judge who impressed them so much during his interviewing process with his ideas and concepts on how to build a winning team that owner John Mara said it was one of the best interviews he has ever encountered.
Judge has had the privilege of learning beside two of the most recognizable and successful Head Coaches of all-time in Nick Saban and Bill Belichick. During his time with both coaches, it’s not a stretch to believe that Judge has learned a lot along the way and he will take what he has learned and blend them into his own beliefs to help turn this Giants team around.
The 38-year-old Head Coach has had a major hand in the decision making of which free agents were brought in and also collaborated with GM Dave Gettleman during the draft. The addition of these players has already made a difference in the Giants culture and team attitude before training camp begins.
Coach Judge has often referred to the roster as a team and not acknowledging one particular player or individual. This type of thinking has transcended on to the players and they are 100% on board with what direction Judge intends to take them. Judge will not play favorites and will expect every player to be accountable for their own actions. It will be interesting to see how Judge handles the DeAndre Baker and Aldrick Rosas incidents once any legal action is settled. Judge also will need to make a decision on Markus Golden who was placed with a seldom-used unrestricted free agent tender (UFA) that awards the team compensation should Golden sign with another team before July 22. If not, Judge and Gettleman could bring Golden back for $4.125M
Final Thoughts:
So what does Joe Judge bring to the New York Giants? Some believe it’s his positive attitude and the way he motivates his players. Others will argue that it’s his attention to detail and his fierce competitive nature. Either way, the Giants are getting a young coach who has been waiting a long time for his chance and now that he has it, Judge will use every opportunity to be a success.
Will he be just another Head Coach passing through on a short lease or are we looking at the next Bill Parcells or even better the next Bill Belichick. Before I put the cart in front of the horse, let’s see how well Judge reshapes this team once training camp begins, and maybe, just maybe the Giants will have a Head Coach who will someday follow the same path as Parcells and Belichick.