Joe Judge’s introductory press conference after being named Giants head coach will go down in Football Guy lore. He checked all the boxes. There was talk about culture and toughness. There was even a promise to punch opponents “in the nose for 60 minutes.” He may as well have been wearing eye black and a neckroll during the presser.
But anyone can talk a big game. We wouldn’t truly know just how committed Judge was to the Football Guy life until the pads came on and the players hit the field. Well, let me tell you, reader: Joe Judge is not messing around.
Now, I’m not currently at Giants camp but the tweets coming out of East Rutherford are all I need to see.
If you couldn’t tell by those tweets alone, Judge is a former Patriots assistant and one who must have been so wrapped up in what was going on in New England that he missed out on all the other Belichick proteges who failed elsewhere because they tried gimmicks like the ones described above.
The most recent example was Matt Patricia, who had the Lions working so hard during his first camp that it nearly led to a locker room revolt. He hasn’t really recovered and had to ship off some good players because his relationships with those guys were broken beyond repair.
The drill sergeant routine might be more effective if you can point to the six rings you’ve won like Belichick is able to do. But when you’re a rookie coach with ZERO wins on your resume, it’s a surefire way to lose the locker room in a hurry. Whatever benefit you might get from making players (and coaches) run laps for mistakes and taking names off the back of jerseys will likely be negated by the resentment those moves build up. When these tactics don’t lead to more wins, it will only accelerate the process that eventually ends with Judge being fired and returning his safe haven in New England.
By all accounts, Judge is a smart, young guy with the requisite attention to detail to make it as an NFL head coach. But he won’t be one for very long if he continues to treat his players like high school kids.
