The hires are coming at a blinding speed in 2020's NFL.
Less than an hour after the news broke Tuesday morning that Matt Rhule would be Carolina's next head coach, the Giants responded by agreeing to hire Patriots special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach Joe Judge as the team's next head coach, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
Judge is the latest New England coordinator to receive a head-coaching opportunity elsewhere and he might be one of the most surprising to the average fan. Judge's name was rarely mentioned when folks gushed over the Patriots' skilled staff, but his work has been evident for much of the last decade. Look no further than the punt team's effectiveness in Super Bowl LIII, in which the Patriots won the field-position battle by pinning the Rams inside their own 10-yard line three times. There's also the effectiveness of special teams ace Matthew Slater, who owns the record for most Pro Bowl selections as a special teamer with eight appearances.
Judge has been receiving direct tutelage on how to become an effective head coach from the greatest ever in Bill Belichick, according to Rapoport, and Judge has also been pursuing his Ph.D in teaching, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, illustrating he is, above all coaching titles, a teacher. The Giants are shifting from hoping an offensive-minded coach could propel them to success, to tabbing a well-rounded, room-commanding candidate to lead these young men in blue.
Judge had an offer to take the head coaching position at his alma mater, Mississippi State, but delayed his decision long enough for the Giants to offer him their head job, per Rapoport.
Rhule's hiring in Carolina and Judge's hiring in New York were somewhat related, per Rapoport. Rhule was offered the Panthers job and gave the Giants a chance to match the offer and lure him onto the flight to New York. The Giantsdeclined to do so and instead chose Judge as their next head coach.
Those crying to the heavens over their beloved Giants hiring an unknown special teams coordinator should stop to take a look at who's leading the AFC's No. 1 seed. Yes, that's correct: John Harbaugh was an excellent special teams coordinator before he was hired as Ravens head coach. It seems to have worked out pretty well for them.
