News broke on Tuesday, but the New York Giants did not make it official until Wednesday — 38-year-old Joe Judge has been hired as the 19th head coach in franchise history.
“I am humbled and honored,” Judge said in a Giants press release. “I want to thank John Mara, Steve Tisch, Dave Gettleman and Kevin Abrams for this opportunity. Over the past couple of days we had great conversations about where this team is and where it is headed and how we are going to get there. My job is to lead our players and coaches. The mission is clear, to win games. There is a process to reaching that objective, and we will implement that process and work that process starting today.”
Judge is said to have “blown the Giants away” during his interview, which altered the team’s entire approach and led them to pass on Matt Rhule, who ended up joining the Carolina Panthers as their next head coach.
“This was the deepest group of quality candidates I can recall, and Joe is as impressive a candidate as I have interviewed,” co-owner John Mara said. “We met with Joe on Monday. We did have some other candidates lined up to speak with, but Joe had established the threshold at that point. He knows what winning looks like and should look like. His exposure and experience in New England and Alabama have helped shape his philosophy of building a winning program and culture. We are thankful that he has accepted the responsibility to lead our team.”
“We had a great conversation, and Joe articulated his vision of leadership and team building,” fellow co-owner Steve Tisch said. “He clearly learned some valuable lessons in both those areas while working with Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. He is an impressive young leader, and as we said last week, he will have the full support of ownership to get us where we want to be.”
General manager Dave Gettleman lauded Judge’s preparation and winning history, acknowledging that learning under Bill Belichick will only serve to benefit him.
“Joe has prepared for this moment and is ready for the challenge of leading our team,” said Gettleman. “His beliefs and principles are all about the team. Because of his background with special teams working under Bill Belichick, he has had the experience of evaluating and managing the entire roster. Can’t wait to work with him.”
The Giants are expected to hold an introductory press conference for Judge on Thursday.
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