With the offseason officially underway, New York Giants rookie head coach Joe Judge has a lot on his plate already from personnel evaluation, scouting for potential incoming players but also setting the tone for how he wants to run the team.
The latter of the three will undoubtedly be the most difficult but arguably the most important. For years now, it seems the Giants organization has been disorganized—from a lack of leadership at the top to actions that contradict what the brass is saying.
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But Judge has learned from two of the best in Bill Belichick and Nick Saban that the tone and work ethic of the building starts with him at the top.
“I’d say the big picture things I’ve learned throughout these guys is first off, the work ethic has to start at the top, you’ve got to set the tone for the building,” Judge said in an interview with MSG. “Those are two men that definitely did that when I worked with them and they set the tone for the staff under them.”
Obviously, finding the right players and developing those talents will be a major factor for success. Part of that process is getting young players to buy into what the people at the top are preaching. The Giants didn’t get much of that with Ben McAdoo, who lost the locker room quickly. Pat Shurmur is a great football mind, but there have been questions about his ability to communicate.
Maybe it’s a desperate hope because of the lack of success the Giants have endured for the better part of the last decade, but Judge seems to bring a different demeanor when it comes to getting the team to buy into what type of football team they want to be.
While talent ultimately wins on the field, Judge understands the locker room must have a foundation for success.
“Before you go ahead and do anything schematically, you have to understand your team,” Judge said. “It’s about building a team, not collecting talent, so you want to make sure the players you bring in, you can unify under one voice, one vision and everyone’s playing toward the same goal.”
There is still a long way to go until we see just how effective the new staff will be, but this seems like a nice change of pace with the accountability coming from the top.