When Joe Judge took over the head coaching job of the New York Giants, he looked for leaders with not only football knowledge but people who can conceptualize things from a higher perspective.
That’s what he got when he hired former Alabama director of player development Kevin Sherrer as one of his new assistant coaches. Sherrer, a former tight end at Alabama in the mid-1990s, won two National Championship rings as Nick Saban’s DPD from 2010-12 before moving onto the coaching ranks, where he’s been coaching linebackers at two other SEC schools (Georgia, Tennessee) the past six years.
It was at Alabama where Sherrer first met Judge, who at the time was working for the Tide as Saban’s special teams assistant. Now, the two have come full circle here with the Giants.
“First off, [me coming here] had to do a lot with Joe,” Sherrer told reporters via video interview on Thursday. “Joe and I have known each other for I’d say 10-12 years, back from when I was coaching high school ball, and we worked together at the University of Alabama. He and I are pretty decent friends. We kept in touch. He was a big part.
“As far as the attraction to coaching in the NFL, you always want to coach at the highest level. Whether you’re a player, coach, whatever, to compete at that level. Once he got an opportunity and presented that to me, I was really excited. I was really excited about being here as well.”
Sherrer will be in charge of the inside linebackers, a group that consists of free agent Blake Martinez, David Mayo, Ryan Connelly, Jospeh Tauaefa and rookies T.J. Brunson and Tae Crowder.
Sherrer had coached Crowder in college at Georgia, along with another current Giant linebacker, Lorenzo Carter, but his concentration will be on getting Martinez acclimated to the signal-caller role as well as capitalizing on his propensity for piling up tackles.
One player that the Giants are hoping can take the next step is Connelly, who flashed as a rookie last year before suffering an ACL tear that ended his season.
“Like all the guys, they’ve done a really good job of coming in and working and kind of understanding what it is that Coach Judge has set down as a foundation of our team,” said Sherrer. “The fundamentals, attention to detail, situational awareness. He’s done a really good job. The training staff did a good job of getting him back in time for once training camp started. But he’s done a really good job, just like all of the guys have in the room of coming in and working and learning as much as they can each day.”
There’s no question Sherrer will do a fine job with the inside group, but it’s his connection to Judge and the mutual respect that bonds this staff. That’s a good start, especially in these trying times when teams can’t be as physically close as needed.
“It’s kind of funny,” said Sherrer when asked if he ever saw Judge as a head coach. “Yeah, I really thought he did. But when you think of a guy that’s kind of a friend of yours, a colleague, co-worker, getting a head coaching job with the New York Giants is something that’s really kind of like ‘wow.’ But yeah, early on, Joe has always been an organized guy, very articulate, does a really good job, loves football, a good family guy. He fits the mold, in my opinion.”
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