New York Giants news, 1/8: Reactions to hiring of Joe Judge

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

Who is Joe Judge?

Meet Joe Judge: The untold details of Giants' new head coach | New York Post

Ryan Dunleavy offers details on the Giants’ new head coach from people who have worked with him.

What you need to know about Giants head coach Joe Judge - Sports Illustrated

Judge’s strength is in his command; he has the ability to lead and be the one at the front of the room. And if you don’t believe me, you can trust Bill Belichick on that. His actions over the last five years demonstrate how he feels on Judge.

How did the Giants choose Judge?

Behind Giants’ Joe Judge hire: Bill Belichick’s huge role | New York Post

The Giants spoke with Belichick before making this choice and the feedback they got back was glowingly positive. What did he say? Well, here is what Belichick said about Judge in July: “Joe could probably coach any position on the field. He does an excellent job of teaching players. He thinks quickly. The game comes easy to him. He understand concepts and adjustments and fundamental techniques. That’s the mark of a good coach. I would definitely put him in that category.’’

Giants' messy path to Joe Judge escalates leadership concerns
So the Giants’ brass may well have pulled a four-leaf clover out of the dust Tuesday morning, picking the Patriots’ 38-year old wide receivers coach and special-teams coordinator to succeed Pat Shurmur. Really, what William Goldman wrote about Hollywood so many years ago applies every bit as much to the hiring of football coaches: “Nobody knows anything.”

But it is difficult not to come away from this odd coaching search with another level of concern regarding the men who run the Giants, who have adopted as their credo the modern-sports gospel of “collaboration” yet only collaborated to turn this coaching search into a muddled mess.

NFL rumors: Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo destroys Giants’ John Mara for missing on Matt Rhule as head coach | ‘INEXCUSABLE!’ - nj.com

Yes, it’s risky

Joe Judge is Giants’ coaching stunner who deserves a chance | New York Post

From Steve Serby:

If Belichick trusts someone as much as he trusted Judge — his special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach — you better believe that his recommendation resonated loudly with John Mara.

Look, for better or for worse, the Giants went with their gut. Or were forced to go with their gut, however it played out for them. And yes, it is difficult to trust that they got this one right. Giants fans applauded the Pat Shurmur hiring, remember. So did most everyone else. The late George Young was certain that Ray Handley was a better option than Belichick to succeed Bill Parcells. And Young, who belongs in the Hall of Fame, nearly fired Parcells after his 3-12-1 season for Howard Schnellenberger. Frank Reich was an afterthought in Indianapolis after McDaniels had left them at the altar.

Giants have staked their reputation on a high-risk hire in Joe Judge | SNY

The Giants are a franchise perched atop a cliff with no safety net between them and the rocks below. So this seemed like a moment in their history when taking a risk was exactly the wrong thing to do.

They have a general manager on the hot seat. They've been changing coaches like their players change cleats. They have endured far more losing than winning for most of the last decade. And they have lost all of their credibility with their fans.

So give them credit for this much, at least: When the safe play seemed like the best play to everyone outside their building, when an experienced and winning head coach seemed like a must, the Giants were not afraid to make a dangerous decision.

About that other guy

Matt Rhule on taking Panthers job: “It just seemed like the right fit” – ProFootballTalk

“Well I just think throughout the entire process getting to know Mr. Tepper, getting to know Marty (Hurney), it was very clear that things were going to be done the right way,” Rhule said in an interview with the Panthers’ website. “They were not looking for a quick fix but instead were looking for sustained excellence. They were looking for a coach that was going to come in and build a program.

“That’s all I really believe in. It’s not about rising and falling day after day. It’s about putting a process in place that guarantees you’re going to be successful in the long run and then having the guts and the toughness to stick to it through good times and bad. When I listened to them talk, that’s what they were looking for and that’s really all I believe in and it just seemed like the right fit.”

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