The New York Giants will undergo a major change this offseason, but they appear to be standing by their head coach.
Giants general manager Dave Gettleman announced on Friday that he is retiring. The 70-year-old had served as GM of the Giants since 2018. The team went 19-46 in four seasons under his leadership.
The Giants have not announced any official decision on head coach Joe Judge’s future, but there have been numerous reports that he will be back next season.
I'm told #Giants HC Joe Judge "is staying," per league source.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) January 10, 2022
#Giants coach Joe Judge will meet with his players in a few minutes and the expectation is he will lead the meeting with an eye to the future, sources tell me and @RapSheet. Same tone was struck in a meeting with coaches a short while ago.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 10, 2022
Some are shocked that the Giants would keep Judge after the team went 6-10 last year and 4-13 this season. However, two seasons is hardly enough time to turn things around for an NFL franchise. Many were shocked that the Miami Dolphins parted ways with Brian Flores after back-to-back losing seasons, but that doesn’t mean Judge should be fired just because one of his peers wasn’t given a fair shot. In reality, NFL teams are often too quick to fire coaches. Perhaps the Giants feel it would be a mistake to give up on Judge after such a short time.
Gettleman’s biggest move as GM in New York was trading up to draft Daniel Jones sixth overall in 2019. Judge was not with the team at the time. Now that Gettleman is gone and a new GM will be taking over, it will be interesting to see if Jones remains in the Giants’ plans.
Judge will almost certainly be coaching for his job if he returns in 2022. He had a bizarre rant about his team after Week 17 and was ruthlessly mocked for a coaching decision in the season finale on Sunday. His popularity is not very high at the moment, but that doesn’t mean the Giants have lost faith in him.
Photo: Jan 9, 2020; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Introductory press conference of New York Giants new head coach Joe Judge at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
