Joe Judge looks to have found a new home in what was once his old home. The Patriots are bringing him back, this time as an offensive assistant (Twitter link via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer).
Breer states that the team is “working on a deal” which is “expected to get done in the coming days”, so nothing is official as of now, but it seems as though Judge is heading back to Foxborough. The 40-year-old began his NFL coaching career with the Patriots in 2012. He always worked on special teams, coordinating the unit from 2015-2019, the year before he left to become head coach of the Giants.
His final year with New England also included the title of wide receivers coach, however. That means that this new position, whatever it ends up being, won’t in fact be his first role on the offensive side of the ball. Judge had been linked to the special teams coordinator vacancy in Vegas, in large part due to the presence of Josh McDaniels as the Raiders’ new head coach. Instead, he will now take a position on a rebuilding Patriots offensive staff.
Since the position isn’t that of offensive coordinator, New England’s search for a direct McDaniels replacement will continue. So far, the two names linked to the vacancy are Bill O’Brien and Adam Gase.
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