Move over, Aaron.
There is a new Judge in New York.
The Giants are hiring Patriots special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach Joe Judge as their next head coach, according to multiple reports.
It is a surprise twist ending in a day that began with leading candidate Matt Rhule of Baylor University accepting a reported seven-year, $60 million contract from the Panthers and canceling his scheduled interview with the Giants.
Even diehard football fans familiar with the Patriots dynasty might be asking, “Who?” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels — who was scheduled to interview with the Giants on Wednesday — is the more well-known candidate and a popular interviewee in every NFL search over the last few years.
Joe JudgeAPJudge actually was supposed to follow McDaniels from the Patriots to the Colts in 2018, before McDaniels backed out of the head coaching job. Judge is the only coach in the NFL with the dual responsibilities of special teams and wide receivers.
Here are three things to know about Judge, whose Monday interview flew under the radar:
1. He has a handful of rings: Judge has five championship rings — two from his time as special teams assistant at Alabama (2009, 2011) and three from the Super Bowl with the Patriots, where he was a special teams assistant, special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach.
2. ‘Up-and-coming star’: Here is how one NFL assistant who has coached against Judge described him to The Post: “His units are always well-coached, always productive and always impact the game positively, and in the top 10 in the league. High energy with a straight-ahead approach. He’s an up-and-coming star.”
3. Hail State: The Philadelphia native played for Mississippi State and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant (2005) at his alma mater, where his wife (mother to the couple’s four children) was an All-SEC soccer player. Mississippi State reportedly was hot on his trail as their new coach — replacing the recently fired Joe Moorhead — but he picked the Giants instead.
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