Since its inception in 1925, the New York Giants have had 18 different head coaches, five of whom have guided the team to a National Football League (NFL) championship. In January 2020, the Giants announced that Joe Judge would assume head coaching duties.

He is the second-youngest coach in the NFL

Judge, the 19th head coach in Giants history, was relatively unknown to the majority of football fans prior to being hired by New York. This is in part due to the fact he has no head coaching experience and, at 38 years old, is now the second-youngest coach in the NFL behind only Sean McVay, 33, of the Los Angeles Rams. Only nine other coaches of the 32 in the league are younger than 45 years old.

Despite his relative inexperience and age, Judge has been hailed as a brilliant football mind and potentially a great coach by colleagues like Amos Jones and Jackie Sherrill, the latter of whom recruited and coached Judge at Mississippi State. Speaking to the New York Post, Amos compared Judge to Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin who, over the course of 13 seasons, has accumulated a combined win-loss record of 133-74-1 and won a Super Bowl in 2008.

“There are certain qualities you have to have being a head coach, and one of them is you have to make decisions that people don't understand but are your responsibility because you have the HC in front of your name," added Sherrill. “Joey has the temperament to be that person. He has the ability to be a player's coach, but it doesn't mean he won't be a tough guy, like Belichick. He ain't going to back down.”

He is a former Patriots special teams coordinator

Although Judge hasn't been a head coach at any level, he has coached in assistant roles under some of the most revered coaches of all time. He most recently concluded an eight-year tenure under Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots, where he served as a special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach. He won three Super Bowls during this time. Judge's coaching was particularly instrumental in 2018, as the Patriots special teams contributed significantly to the Patriots’ Super Bowl LIII victory over the Los Angeles Rams. In that game, New England's punt coverage team forced the Rams to begin three drives from within their own 10-yard line.

In 2012, Judge joined the Patriots as a special teams assistant and earned the role of special teams coordinator three years later. In the four seasons since then, New England's special teams unit consistently ranked as among the best in the league. Moreover, he coached kicker Stephen Gostkowski and special teams captain Matthew Slater to All-Pro team distinction in 2015 and 2016, respectively. He took on the role of wide receivers coach this past season in an effort to broaden his resume in preparation for a role as a head coach.

He coached under Nick Saban at Alabama

Before gaining valuable experience under Belichick, Judge served for three years as a football analyst at the University of Alabama under Nick Saban and was part of two National Championship-winning teams. Saban, who has been coaching at the NCAA level since 1990, boasts an impressive 243-65-1 coaching record and has won multiple National Championships and Coach of the Year awards.

Primarily focused on special teams, Judge coached multiple All-American players at Alabama, including kicker and Groza Award finalist Leigh Tiffin (2009) and return specialist Javier Arenas (2009). Previously, he served as a linebacker's coach at Birmingham-Southern and as a special teams coach at Mississippi State.

He played at Mississippi State

A former quarterback at Lansdale Catholic High School, Judge was recruited to play at Mississippi State in 2000 and, although he rarely played the position, became a valuable player on special teams. He earned three letters during his four-year stint as a player at Mississippi State and served the following year as a graduate assistant.

He almost joined the Indianapolis Colts

While New York appears to be a great fit for Judge, the 38-year-old could have joined the Indianapolis Colts as a special teams coordinator in 2018. At that time, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had reportedly agreed to become the new head coach of the Colts and was prepared to take Judge with him. The Colts’ official Twitter account even announced as much, and the team scheduled a news conference to introduce McDaniels to the media. However, the day before the news conference, the Patriots persuaded McDaniels—and Judge, by association—to stay with the team.

Had he not been hired by the Giants, Judge still could have assumed his first head coaching role. There were several vacancies in the NFL, but according to Giants' co-owner John Mara, Judge was being strongly considered for the role of head coach at his alma mater, Mississippi State. The university made an offer to Judge and put pressure on him to make a quick decision. Mike Leach was hired as Mississippi State's head coach just days after the Giants hired Judge.