New York Giants head coach Joe Judge has completed filling out his 2020 coaching staff but the two main roles – offensive and defensive coordinator – are the ones Giant fans are focused the most on.
Speaking as a guest on the “MSG 150 Final” on the MSG Network Thursday night at 10:30pm, Judge expanded on everything from what the first 30 days on the job have been like and what he learned from coaching under Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.
He also provided feedback on his new coaching staff, especially offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Judge has stressed fundamentals and is requiring his staff to be just as much teachers as they are coaches.
“There’s no thought process into gathering head coaches. I just wanted really good coaches that were going to add to the staff. The experience that they had already is a bonus and is something that will help me out personally. And will help out our team significnatly. The first thing I really wanted was good people. That are going to care about the players, that are going to have great relatiosnhip with the players and can motivate them and get the most out of them. After that I wanted great teacher. I know we found that. We have a lot of guys with different personalities that will be able to touch everyone in the room. And we have guys that can identify how the players learn and are really going to do a great job of getting the most out of them.”
Judge feels Garrett, the former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, who once coached under Saban in Miami is the perfect candidate to reset this Giants’ offense.
“I think when you watch what they did in Dallas the entire time he was there as both the Offensive Coordinator and Head Coach, they’ve been able to have different players have high degrees of success. They’ve thrown the ball, they’ve ran the ball well. They have great player versatility with how they use the entire roster. They’ve adjusted over time schematically. But it’s a great base foundation of the offense that’s grown throughout his time to be very player friendly. And that to me was the biggest part. To get a foundation for an offense in here that can last over time. You look at the offenses around the league that have been able to have success long-term, you look at the great quarterbacks in the league. The one luxury most of those guys have had is playing within the same offensive system for the duration of their career. Not necessarily the same players, not always the same exact play calling, but the same system that’s allowed them to grow and have familiarity within it.”
Judge worked with Graham in New England and knows that he can instill the aggressiveness back into the defense.
“Pat is one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever been around. Pat knows how to use the tools he’s handed. He gets the most out of his players. He does a great job of dealing with matchups, he’s great at in-game adjustments. Pat is really a phenomenal resource for us to have on the staff and the players really respond to him. I’ve worked with him on staffs and have gone against him as an opposing coach. And you would much rather like to have him on your side.”
Giant fans are already familiar with Judge’s choice for special teams coordinator, Thomas McGaughey, who was a holdover from Pat Shurmur’s staff.