THE NFL’S NEW York Giants named Joe Judge as their new head coach on Wednesday, tasking the former assistant to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick with turning around a struggling franchise.
Judge, who landed his first head coaching job, won Superbowl titles in the 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons as part of the Patriots coaching staff.
Before joining New England, he spent three years working for one of the top head coaches in US college football, Nick Saban, at the University of Alabama.
He had been special teams coordinator for New England since 2015 and last season took over as wide receivers coach as well.
“I am humbled and honored,” Judge said in a statement, adding that he had “great conversations” with Giants owners and executives on where the team is headed and how to get there.
“The mission is clear, to win games,” he said. “There is a process to reaching that objective, and we will implement that process and work that process starting today.”
Judge takes over from Pat Shurmur, who was fired on December 30 after two losing seasons.
Their final-game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles saw the Giants finish 4-12 for 2019.
The Giants had undertaken an extensive interview process in their search for a new coach, interviewing Dallas Cowboys defensive assistant Kris Richard, Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale, Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy was named the new head coach of the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, a day after the team finally confirmed it was parting ways with Jason Garrett.
The Giants had been scheduled to interview Matt Rhule of Baylor University on Tuesday, but he agreed to a deal to coach the Carolina Panthers.
