Giants find their man in Patriots' Judge

When the New York Football Giants began their search for a new head coach after dismissing Pat Shurmur following 5-11 and 4-12 campaigns, no one was sure exactly what they were looking for or who would be able to provide it.

- John Fennelly

The Giants interviewed four other candidates before they made their decision to go with New England Patriots wide receivers/special teams coach Joe Judge.

The immediate response was that the Giants panicked when Matt Rhule decided to take Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper’s jackpot of a contract offer. They didn’t. It was the exceptional aura of Judge and what he brings to the table that caused the front office to move quickly.

Many outside of Foxborough had never even heard of Judge, who was not interviewed by any of the other teams seeking a head coach this offseason. The Giants were immediately smitten by his confidence, knowledge and resume.

In his introductory press conference, Judge was in complete control, not taking the bait on some of the ridiculous questions hurled his way. He simply sidestepped any potential faux pas and answered in firm fashion.

So, who is this Joe Judge? Well, in reading his resume, you probably couldn’t find a better one for an up-and-coming 38 year-old assistant. Judge spent the last 11 seasons working under two of the greatest — if not the greatest — coaches in football history in Nick Saban and Bill Belichick.

Both Belichick and Saban gave Judge glowing reviews and were not shocked one bit that Judge was hired as the head coach of an NFL team.