Analysis: Giants retaining Joe Judge would be biggest mistake in franchise history

New York’s decision to hire Judge in the first place was pretty darn surprising. We’re talking about a coach who had no play-calling experience at any level before being brought on by the Giants.

For the most part, Judge's eight-year tenure with New England consisted of him running the special teams. He did act as wide receivers coach in 2019, but that’s the extent of it.

Sure we’ve seen John Harbaugh have a tremendous amount of success as the Baltimore Ravens’ head coach after he served as a special teams coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles. But he’s an exception to the rule.

The interview process likely played out to an extent that New York’s brass came away floored with Judge’s personality and ideals for the organization. That’s fine. But in fewer than two years, Judge has proven over and over again that he is in over his head.

Giants aren’t getting better under Judge

“If you’re not getting better you’re getting worse.” This isn’t hyperbolic. It’s legitimately been the case for the Giants under Judge.

Some might defend him by noting the numerous injuries Saquon Barkley has suffered throughout the past couple seasons. Some might point to quarterback Daniel Jones’ current injury. Other apologists will look at the mistakes general manager David Gettleman has made in his role.

That’s a soft way to approach this. Simply put, the Giants are no better in Judge’s second season than they were in his debut campaign of 2020. The stats speak to this. Actual facts on paper.

New York Giants team stats under Judge

How in the world does this inspire confidence that the Giants are suddenly going to turn it around under Mr. Judge? No individual living within the confines of reality should come to that conclusion.

Giants need a full-scale rebuild

We mentioned Gettleman above. In no way should he be spared from getting those post-holiday walking papers. He’s been an utter disaster as a player-personnel figure.

But if we’re going to conclude the GM should be fired, why not just simply blow the entire thing up? The Giants an additional first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft from the Chicago Bears following a draft-day trade this past April.

If the season were to end today, that would give the G-Men two of the top seven picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. The backdrop here is Jones’ injury and questions about his future in Jersey.

It should now be all about using those two selections to find franchise cornerstones. It should also be done under new leadership and with an eye to the future.

That means bringing in a young head coach and a new general manager to call the shots. Simply put, the false belief that Judge will somehow morph into Bill Belichick is about as laughable as it gets. Retaining him would be the greatest mistake in the history of the Giants’ franchise.