Joe Judge (American football)

Joseph Francis Judge (born December 31, 1981) is an American college and professional football coach who is currently a senior analyst for the Ole Miss Rebels. Judge served as the head coach of the New York Giants from 2020 to 2021. Prior to joining the Giants, Judge served as an assistant coach for the Patriots from 2012 to 2019. The Patriots appeared in four Super Bowls, winning three of them, during Judge's tenure.

Joe Judge
refer to caption
Judge with the Giants in 2021
Ole Miss Rebels
Position:Senior analyst
Personal information
Born: (1981-12-31) December 31, 1981 (age 42)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Career information
High school:Lansdale Catholic
(Lansdale, Pennsylvania)
College:Mississippi State
Career history
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
As an assistant coach
Head coaching record
Regular season:10–23 (.303)
Record at Pro Football Reference

Early years

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Judge was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Growing up in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Lansdale Catholic High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.[1] Judge played for Mississippi State from 2000 to 2004, earning three letters. He was also named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and made the Dean's List.

Coaching career

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Assistant coach

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In 2005, he joined his alma mater, Mississippi State University, as a graduate assistant for the Bulldogs. He next served briefly as the linebackers coach for the Birmingham–Southern Panthers in 2008 and then as a special teams assistant for Alabama. In 2012, he joined the New England Patriots as a special teams assistant and served in that role through the 2014 season.[2][3] Following the Patriots' victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, Judge was promoted to special teams coordinator following the retirement of Scott O'Brien.[4][5] On February 5, 2017, Judge was part of the Patriots' coaching staff that won Super Bowl LI. In the game, the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime.[6]

On February 6, 2018, it was reported that Judge was leaving the Patriots to join the Indianapolis Colts' new head coach Josh McDaniels in Indianapolis;[7] when McDaniels spurned the Colts and chose to stay with the Patriots, Judge made the same decision.[8][9] After wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea left New England to become offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, Judge was tapped to fill O'Shea's role while continuing to serve as special teams coordinator;[10] according to ESPN, he was the only coach in the NFL with both special teams and wide receiver duties.[11] Judge won his third Super Bowl title when the Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.[12]

New York Giants

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Judge with the New York Giants in 2020

On January 8, 2020, Judge was hired to become the 21st head coach of the New York Giants.[13] According to Sports Illustrated's Rick Gosselin, he is only the second NFL head coach to have been hired directly from a special teams coaching job, after Frank Gansz.

2020 season

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On September 13, 2020, Judge lost his head coaching debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 26–16.[14] After an 0–5 start to the season, Judge received his first career win as a head coach in a 20–19 win against the Washington Football Team on October 18, 2020.[15] On November 18, 2020, there was a coaching controversy when Judge fired his offensive line coach Marc Colombo and replaced him with former Dolphins offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo after Week 10, due to a verbal altercation.[16] In his first season as the head coach of the Giants, Judge led them to a 6–10 record, finishing second in the NFC East.

2021 season

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The Giants regressed during Judge's second season, going 4–13 and finishing last in the NFC East. Judge recorded the most losses by a Giants head coach with 13 surpassing the mark of 12 by Jim Fassel in 2003. Judge was fired on January 11, 2022, finishing his tenure in New York with an overall record of 10–23 (.303).[17] Judge's season suffered from questionable calls, such as a coach's challenge on a non-reviewable scoring play during Week 1 versus the Denver Broncos,[18] a controversial 11 minute post-game locker room rant after a loss to the Chicago Bears,[19] and a quarterback sneak on 3rd and 9 against their own goalline during a Week 18 matchup against the Washington Football Team.[20]

New England Patriots (second stint)

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On February 8, 2022, the Patriots announced that Judge was hired as an offensive assistant.[21] On July 21, 2022, the Patriots announced that he will also be the Quarterbacks coach.[22] He lost his quarterback's coach job following the hire of Bill O'Brien on January 26, 2023, and was named assistant head coach in 2023.

Ole Miss Rebels

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On April 3, 2024, it was reported that Judge had joined the Ole Miss Rebels as a senior analyst.[23]

Personal life

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Judge's father, Joseph, played football at Temple and professionally with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. Judge's wife, Amber, was an All-SEC soccer player at Mississippi State, and they have four children together.[24] Judge's son, Sean, plays college football at Ole Miss.[25]

Head coaching record

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
NYG 2020 6 10 0 .375 2nd in NFC East
NYG 2021 4 13 0 .235 4th in NFC East
Total 10 23 0 .303 0 0 .000

References

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  1. ^ Justin Heinze (January 7, 2020). "Lansdale Catholic Graduate Joe Judge Named NY Giants Head Coach". patch.com. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  2. ^ Howe, Jeff (May 10, 2012). "Patriots Promote Matt Patricia to Defensive Coordinator, Hire Steve Belichick As Coaching Assistant". NESN. Retrieved January 11, 2020. The Patriots also hired Joe Judge as a special teams assistant. Judge spent the last three years as a football analyst for Nick Saban at Alabama.
  3. ^ Bator, Mark (June 4, 2012). "Patriots Hire Former Rutgers Long Snapper Stephen Belichick as Assistant Coach". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 11, 2020. The hiring was one of several moves recently announced by the Patriots, including the recruitment of former Crimson Tide special teams assistant Joe Judge...
  4. ^ "Super Bowl XLIX - Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots - February 1st, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Dragon, Tyler (February 3, 2015). "New England Patriots special teams coach Scott O'Brien retiring". NFL.com. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  6. ^ Heinze, Justin (February 6, 2017). "Lansdale Catholic Graduate, NFL Coach Wins Super Bowl with Patriots". Patch.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  7. ^ Daniels, Mark (February 6, 2018). "Josh McDaniels leaves Colts at altar and stays with Patriots". providencejournal.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020. It was also reported that the Pats could also lose special-teams coach Joe Judge to Indy...
  8. ^ Reiss, Mike (February 9, 2018). "Patriots working to bring back special-teams coach Joe Judge". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  9. ^ Buchmasser, Bernd (February 6, 2018). "Patriots special teams coach Joe Judge expected to stay in New England after Josh McDaniels leaves Colts at the altar". Pats Pulpit. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  10. ^ Daniels, Mark (June 5, 2019). "Joe Judge brings a new 'flavor' as the Patriots receiver coach". providencejournal.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  11. ^ Reiss, Mike (July 28, 2019). "Joe Judge, NFL's only special-teams/WR coach, locked in on details". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  12. ^ "Super Bowl LIII - Los Angeles Rams vs. New England Patriots - February 3rd, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  13. ^ Eisen, Michael (January 8, 2020). "Giants hire Joe Judge as head coach". Giants.com. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  14. ^ Stapleton, Art (September 15, 2020). "Scrappy but sloppy, Giants let upset bid slip away vs. Steelers in Joe Judge's debut". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  15. ^ Raanan, Jordan (October 18, 2020). "Joe Judge gets first win as New York Giants sneak by Washington". www.espn.com. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  16. ^ Smith, Michael David (November 18, 2020). "Giants fire offensive line coach Marc Colombo". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  17. ^ "Joe Judge relieved of duties as Giants head coach". New York Giants. January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  18. ^ "Giants' Joe Judge explains baffling decision to challenge non-reviewable play". Sporting News. September 13, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  19. ^ "Giants' Joe Judge has no regrets over viral 11-minute rant". USA Today. January 4, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  20. ^ "Judge explains Giants' bizarre QB sneak on third-and-9 vs. WFT". NBC Sports. January 9, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  21. ^ "Patriots Hire Joe Judge as Offensive Assistant". www.patriots.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  22. ^ Smith, Michael David (July 21, 2022). "Patriots announce coaching staff, Joe Judge coaching QBs and Matt Patricia offensive line". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  23. ^ "Ex-Giants coach Joe Judge joins Ole Miss staff". ESPN.com. April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  24. ^ Eisen, Michael (January 7, 2020). "Giants interview Patriots' Joe Judge for head coach position". giants.com. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  25. ^ "Sean Judge - Football". Ole Miss Athletics - Hotty Toddy. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
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