The New York Giants have reached a verdict on Joe Judge’s future.
The franchise fired the head coach after two seasons with the team.
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“Steve (Tisch) and I both believe it is in the best interest of our franchise to move in another direction,” co-owner and team president John Mara said in a statement. “We met with Joe yesterday afternoon to discuss the state of the team. I met again with Joe this afternoon, and it was during that conversation I informed Joe of our decision. We appreciate Joe's efforts on behalf of the organization.”
“I said before the season started that I wanted to feel good about the direction we were headed when we played our last game of the season. Unfortunately, I cannot make that statement, which is why we have made this decision.
“We will hire a general manager and that person will lead the effort to hire a new head coach.”
The firing of Judge comes a day after general manager and executive vice president Dave Gettleman retired. It also came a day after a report said that Judge was “staying,” news that led to excitement from rival fan bases.
NFL
The Giants went 10-23 under Judge. The team was 4-7 entering December and had a conceivable shot at making a run at an NFC wild card spot before imploding with a six-game losing skid to end the season. Judge’s final game was a 22-7 loss to the Washington Football Team that featured an infamous quarterback sneak from the Giants’ 4-yard line. Things weren’t much better in the week prior, as Judge went on an 11-minute rant following New York’s 29-3 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 17.
Judge is not the only coach with a short Giants tenure. He became the third straight head coach that failed to reach a third year with the franchise, following in the footsteps of Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur.
The Giants’ struggles cannot be solely pinned on the head coach, though. The team’s last four first-round draft picks – Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones, Andrew Thomas and Kadarius Toney – have been used on offensive players, yet the team finished the 2021 season ranked 31st in total yards and total points. Along with draft duds, the Giants have missed on free agent acquisitions on that side of the ball, including Kenny Golladay and Nate Solder.
New York has the Nos. 5 and 7 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, the latter of which came in a 2021 draft day trade with the Bears. Now, it will be up to a new head coach and GM to utilize those picks and turn things around in East Rutherford.