After being fired as the New York Giants head coach, Joe Judge returned to the New England Patriots in 2022 for an opportunity to rebuild his image and learn from Bill Belichick. However, the season unfolded far worse than expected and might have caused further damage to Judge’s reputation around the league.
Judge, who spent the majority of his coaching career working with special teams, became New England’s quarterbacks coach and offensive assistant in 2022. Working one-on-one with quarterback Mac Jones, he was tasked with helping the 2021 first-round pick elevate his game.
- Joe Judge coaching record: 10-23
After Jones posted a 92.5 QB rating with a 67.8% completion rate and a 22-13 TD-INT line in his first NFL season, he took a significant step back in 2022. The Patriots’ quarterback finished with an 84.8 passer rating, completing just 65.2% of his passes with a 14-11 TD-INT line.
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According to Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald, Jones didn’t like Judge and the feeling was shared by many in the locker room. The Patriots’ quarterbacks coach would trade profanity-laced outbursts with Jones and he reportedly used tactics to try and ‘project like he was the guy’ in New England.
Judge’s demeanor in the building and the way he acted with people reportedly turned the locker room against him quickly, even losing support from some of his peers on the coaching staff. All of this came just a year after similar reports from his tenure in New York.
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Joe Judge’s pattern of behavior with New York Giants
When New York hired Judge as its head coach in 2020, the franchise hoped the three-time SUper Bowl champion would install something similar to the Patriots’ culture. With years of experience under Belichick and Nick Saban, he offered a resume that appealed to the Giants’ front office.
Once Judge took over, players quickly became uncomfortable. The locker room was unhappy with his practice methods for years, with overly physical practices and immediate discipline for any mistakes made on the practice field.
It created an atmosphere that reportedly left players scared to mess up and reports later surfaced that many in the locker room wanted Judge fired. He never changed his approach even after a 6-10 season in 2020. The environment he created reportedly even made his coaching staff feel like they were walking on eggshells around him.
Despite the variety of reports and a negative reputation, Belichick is expected to retain Judge in a reduced role for the 2023 season. Given his relationship with the future Hall of Fame coach, Judge will likely always have a job in the NFL as long as Belichick is around. Once the all-time great retires, though, Judge’s future in coaching might become a bigger uncertainty.
