The New York Giants raised some eyebrows with their reported head-coaching hire, to say the least.
Matt Rhule appeared bound for the Meadowlands, but the now-former Baylor head coach reportedly took the Panthers job before his scheduled interview with the Giants. Rhule heading to Carolina conceivably opened the door for Josh McDaniels or maybe even Jason Garrett to replace Pat Shurmur in New York.
No and no.
The Giants instead opted for Patriots assistant Joe Judge, who soon will embark on his first head-coaching job at any level. The bulk of the football world outside of New England probably isn’t very familiar with Judge, as evidence by Shannon Sharpe’s reaction to the news.
“What?! Skip, they’re going too far with this now,” Sharpe said Tuesday on FS1’s “Undisputed. “I mean, I understand a branch, but they get a leaf off the tree and think it’s going to bear fruit. Not to be confused with Judge Joe Brown, Joe Judge.”
.@ShannonSharpe on the NY Giants reportedly hiring Joe Judge as HC:
"What? Not to be confused with Judge Joe Brown, but Joe Judge. The Ravens struck with a special teams coach when they hired John Harbaugh. Maybe the Giants are hoping they can have that level of success." pic.twitter.com/n8C9rCfoUa
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) January 7, 2020
While Judge, of course, earned the opportunity on his own merit, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have the Bill Belichick stamp of approval.
