Joe Judge remains the head coach of the Giants. For now.
This is not set in stone as a done deal moving into the 2022 season, but there was no Black Monday for Judge a day after he put the finishing touches on a dismal 4-13 season.
Judge conducted his usual end-of-season exit meeting with his players Monday afternoon and spoke of looking ahead, but he never actually alerted his team that he will return. This is because he was never told he would return. Judge later in the day met with co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, and this group is expected to speak again on Tuesday.
“He did his standard end-of-the-year checklist squad meeting, like we had last year,’’ safety Logan Ryan said. “It wasn’t like he announced he was coming back.’’
No doubt, the owners want to hear Judge’s explanation for what went wrong this season and what ideas he has to make it right. The owners are also likely to want to know how Judge plans to change his offensive coaching staff and what direction he might take in attempting to reduce the injuries that have plagued his team.
Joe Judge during the Giants’ season-ending loss to Washington. Charles Wenzelberg/New York PostThere are still discussions to be had, and Judge likely will have to do some convincing as he lays out a new and improved plan that can get the franchise out of its losing ways. There is little doubt the owners will ask Judge to alter some of his coaching methods and perhaps some of his personality traits. After the 2006 season, Tom Coughlin likely would have been fired if he did not agree to make changes to his approach with the players.
The only major news on Monday was the expected retirement of general manager Dave Gettleman after four years on the job. Gettleman knew for a while that he was not coming back and was given the opportunity to leave without getting fired.
Whoever is hired to replace Gettleman will have strong input into who coaches the team. It is not a prerequisite that any candidate has any previous experience with Judge. The Giants will likely find someone from outside the organization and that person, along with ownership, will determine Judge’s fate. But the fact Mara and Tisch did not fire Judge on Monday means Judge did not disqualify himself from getting a third year after his team deteriorated down the stretch of this past season, losing six games by a combined score of 163-56 — all with Daniel Jones out with a sprained neck.
Judge’s hold on his job was far more secure around Christmas time and the thinking of ownership was that Judge would return for a third year. The complete meltdown down the stretch, combined with some troubling comments from Judge after the loss in Chicago paved the way for his footing being less secure just two years into a five-year contract.
Judge is 10-23 in his two seasons, hired as a relative unknown at 38 years old after serving as Bill Belichick’s special teams coordinator with the Patriots. Judge’s first season was promising, despite the 6-10 record. Even after the Giants lost five of their first six games this season, the target was not yet on Judge’s back. His team was 4-7 after a 13-7 victory over the Eagles.
Jones suffered a sprained neck that ended his season and the combination of Mike Glennon and Jake Fromm as the replacements was worse than a disaster. Throw in Mara’s dismay at hearing Judge after a 29-3 loss to the Bears rant about “clown show organizations’’ referring but not naming Washington and accusing the 2019 Giants of quitting and “tapping out’’ — an unnamed shot at former coach Pat Shurmur — and Judge put himself, if not on the hot seat, certainly close enough to start to sweat.
“I’ve got a great relationship with Joe and have learned a lot from him about the game,’’ Jones said. “We’ll continue to work and grow in our communication.’’
On a day when the Dolphins stunningly fired Brian Flores despite a record of 19-14 the past two seasons, Judge was spared.
Mara after hiring Judge said he had to show more patience than he had in the past, as Judge was a novice head coach, acknowledging that he felt badly that the firings of Ben McAdoo and Shurmur came so quickly. Mara, though, also said he needed to see definite signs of progress.
“I love the guy, honestly, I love his mentality, I love the way he comes to work, I love the way he approaches the game,’’ defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “I like playing for him.’’
Williams might play for Judge again next season. He also might not. Stay tuned.







