Joe Judge now boasts a 10-19 record as the New York Giants’ head coach in less than two years into that role. His team is coming off an ugly 37-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14 and just has not been competitive.
When New York hired Judge away from the New England Patriots ahead of the 2020 season, the expectation was that he’d change the culture in Jersey. That obviously hasn’t happened as of yet.
Despite this, there’s continued suggestions that Judge’s job is safe beyond this season. In fact, Giants co-owner John Mara still has an unrealistic expectation of what Joe Judge could be for his downtrodden organization.
“A few weeks ago I would’ve told you no chance he gets fired. Now? Even after (the Giants’ 37-21 loss to the Chargers on Sunday), I’d probably still say ‘No chance.’ (Mara) loves Judge. He thinks he’s found his (Bill) Belichick or (Bill) Parcells. And there’s just no way he gives up on another coach this soon,” an NFL source told Ralph Vacchiano of SNY recently.
Bill Belichick? Bill Parcells? What type of pie-in-the-sky belief is this? What has Judge done in his 29 games as the Giants’ head coach that suggests he even belongs in the same sentence as these two all-time greats? The answer to that question is a resounding nothing.
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Joe Judge has always been in over his head with the New York Giants
New York’s decision to hire Judge in the first place was pretty darn surprising. We’re talking about a coach who had no play-calling experience at any level prior to being brought on by the Giants.
For the most part, his eight-year tenure with New England consisted of Judge running the special teams. He did act as wide receivers coach in 2019, but that’s the extent of it.
Sure we’ve seen John Harbaugh have a tremendous amount of success as the Baltimore Ravens’ head coach after he served as a special teams coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles. But he’s an exception to the rule.
The interview process likely played out to an extent that New York’s brass came away floored with Judge’s personality and ideals for the organization moving forward. That’s fine. But in less than two years, it’s been proven over and over again that Judge is in over his head.
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New York Giants aren’t getting better under Joe Judge
“If you’re not getting better you’re getting worse.” This isn’t hyperbolic. It’s legitimately been the case for the Giants under Judge.
Some might defend him by noting the numerous injuries Saquon Barkley has dealt with throughout the past couple seasons. Some might point to quarterback Daniel Jones’ current injury. Other apologists will look at the mistakes general manager David Gettleman has made in his role.
That’s a soft way to approach this. Simply put, the Giants are no better in Judge’s second season than they were in hit debut campaign of 2020. The stats speak to this. Actual facts on paper.
New York Giants team stats under Joe Judge
| Year | PPG | Points against | Total offense | Total defense | Record |
| 2020 | 17.5 (31st) | 22.3 (9th) | 299.6 (31st) | 349.3 (12th) | 6-10 |
| 2021 | 17.8 (27th) | 23.8 (21st) | 312.2 (25th) | 369.7 (26th) | 4-9 |
How in the world does this inspire confidence that the Giants are suddenly going to turn it around under Mr. Judge? No individual living within the confines of reality should come to that conclusion.
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New York Giants need a full-scale rebuild
We mentioned Gettleman above. In no way should he be spared from getting those post-holiday walking papers. He’s been an utter disaster as a player personnel figure.
But if we’re going to conclude the GM should be fired, why not just simply blow the entire thing up? New York has an additional first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft from the Chicago Bears following a draft-day trade this past April.
If the season were to end today, that would give the G-Men two of the top-seven picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. The backdrop here is Jones’ injury and questions about his future in Jersey.
It should now be all about using those two selections to find franchise cornerstones. It should also be done under new leadership and with an eye to the future.
That means bringing in a young head coach and a new general manager to call the shots. Because, the false belief that Joe Judge will somehow morph into Bill Belichick is about as laughable as it gets. Retaining him would be the greatest mistake in the history of the Giants’ franchise.