NFL Rumors: Is Giants HC Joe Judge on the hot seat?

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge was hired by owner John Mara and general manager Dave Gettleman as the franchise’s 19th head coach on 8 January 2020.

Judge was the New England Patriots special teams coach from 2015-2019 and was also the wide receivers coach in 2019. Before becoming the Patriots special teams coach on Bill Belichick’s coaching staff, he was hired as a special teams assistant from 2012-2014 at age 31. He was also part of the University of Alabama’s coaching staff under head coach Nick Saban as a special teams assistant from 2009-20111, having been hired at age 28.

Judge brought with him a very impressive résumé as he was on the staff of perhaps the greatest Division One head coach of all time in Saban and the greatest NFL head coach in Belichick. The former Saban and Belichick disciple replaced Pat Shurmur, who had a 9-23 record in his two years on the sidelines for the Giants. In 2020, Judge had a 6-10 record and finished second in the NFC East, which was a two-game improvement from the Giants' 4-12 record in the previous year.

Going into the 2021 season, there were expectations that the Giants could improve upon their 6-10 record from 2020. Before the season started, three Giants players retired: offensive lineman Kendall Fulton, eight-year veteran offensive lineman Joe Looney and Super Bowl-winning linebacker Todd Davis. Currently, the Giants are 4-8 and in last place in the NFC East. The question in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is whether Judge will have a third year.

Is Giants HC Joe Judge on the hot seat?

New York Giants head coach against the Philadelphia Eagles

Since Tom Coughlin stepped down as the head coach of the Giants after 12 years in January 2016, the team has a record of 33-59 (.359). They only have one winning record, which was their first year without Coughlin, going 11-5 under Ben McAdoo, Coughlin’s successor. Judge is the third full-time head coach since 2016 and is looking to avoid being fired after two years.

This year, Judge he fired offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and replaced him with former Cleveland Browns head coach and Giants senior offensive assistant Freddie Kitchens.

Running back Saquon Barkley has played in just eight games this season and is last in red zone offense and 26th in total offense. The defense is 24th in the league and allows the second-most plays per drive on average. The Giants have not won two straight games since Weeks 12 and 13 against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Seattle Seahawks respectively last year.

At this rate, if the Giants do not show any significant improvement, the verdict will be in for Joe Judge, and the team will be looking for their fourth coach since 2016.