PHILADELPHIA — There is no doubt the Giants believed they hired the right head coach even after Joe Judge went 6-10 in 2020, his first year on the job. Ownership loved Judge’s tough-but-fair style, his embracing of what it takes to win in the New York/New Jersey area and the way the team fought through most games. Also, the Giants went 5-3 in the second half of last season, showing outward signs of improvement.

There is also no doubt the Giants do not feel quite as confident Judge is the answer as his second season approaches its end. The Giants are 4-11 after getting pounded 34-10 by the Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field and ownership is extremely disappointed with another season spent out of playoff contention.

Still, there has never been any groundswell that Judge’s job security was tenuous in any way, which is why an ESPN report that the Giants are planning to bring back Judge in 2022 comes as unsurprising on many levels. That the team is also planning on bringing back quarterback Daniel Jones — who is under contract in 2022 — is also the expected course of action.

The fallout of another brutal season will be felt high in the football operation, as the Giants are strongly expected to dismiss general manager Dave Gettleman. The Giants are 19-43 since Gettleman, 70, took over and he will either head into retirement or be outright fired. Either way, the Giants will be looking for someone new to pair with Judge to get the franchise out of a decade-long rut.

Lest we forget, co-owner John Mara on the day the Giants introduced Judge as the head coach said, “It’s up to us to show a little more patience with this coach than perhaps we have over the last few years because he is a first-time head coach.” The Giants fired Ben McAdoo before his second season was complete and fired Pat Shurmur after two full seasons. Mara detests the idea that the Giants were becoming a fly-by-night operation that cycles through head coaches, realizing that the most successful franchises stress and represent continuity.

If a new head of football operations arrives and wants a clean slate, that could put in jeopardy Judge returning for a third season. That scenario, presumably, would be a large part of the pre-hiring discussion, with ownership expected to express its desire to stick with Judge, unless given a home run-type option to replace Judge, who has three years remaining on his five-year contract.

The current four-game losing streak and largely noncompetitive football does not help Judge’s case. When asked after this latest loss if he had been told anything by ownership, Judge interrupted the rest of the question.

“I’m never going to comment on anything hypothetically about jobs, mine or anybody else’s,’’ he said, again. “I appreciate the question, I understand what you guys are asking. It doesn’t matter if you’re asking about me, [defensive coordinator] Pat Graham, [quarterbacks coach] Jerry Schuplinski, [defensive backs coach] Jerome Henderson, I’m just telling you, I’m never going to comment on that in a press conference, guys.’’

A new general manager could insist the Giants move on from Jones, who in 2022 will be on the final year of his contract and count an affordable $8.3 million on the salary cap. Unless a far more attractive quarterback is available, it is highly likely Jones will return, as long as he makes a full recovery from the neck sprain that will keep him out the final six games of this season.

Jones’ absence does not give Judge a pass for the second-half swoon but it has been included in the evaluation process of his body of work.

Judge, 10-21 as a head coach, privately has been concentrating on finishing out this season but also planning for 2022 and beyond, and those around him have seen no indication that he was worried about his job security.