Joe Judge is back in familiar surroundings as a New England Patriots assistant. But his new role is quite different than the one he filled during his first stint in Foxboro.
Judge's primary focus then was on the kicking game. He spent three seasons as a special teams assistant (2012-14) and five more as New England's special teams coordinator (2015-19) before leaving to take over as head coach of the New York Giants.
Fired from that top job after two lackluster seasons, Judge returned to the Patriots in February with a notable new title: offensive assistant. His exact responsibilities have yet to be revealed, but head coach Bill Belichick confirmed Judge will play a prominent role in the team's plan to replace departed offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Judge did coach Patriots wide receivers in 2019 in addition to his special teams duties, but this will be the first in his coaching career that he's focused exclusively on the offensive side of the ball.
Given that lack of experience, the 40-year-old's new position prompted some eyebrow-raising from observers -- including one of his former Giants players.
Veteran safety Jabrill Peppers, who played two seasons under Judge in New York before signing with the Patriots last month, admitted he was "a little bit" surprised to hear the coach now would be working with the offense.
Only a little bit, though.
"Back in New York, he kind of leaned toward the offense and favored them a little bit more," Peppers said Tuesday in his introductory virtual news conference. "So it's not too much of a surprise to me. But it will be interesting to see what he does on the offensive side because usually I know him as the head guy and the special teams guru. So, it will be interesting to see him on that side and talk a little smack to him."
Another leading voice on the Patriots' offensive staff, according to Belichick, will be Matt Patricia, New England's former longtime defensive coordinator. Patricia, an advisor to Belichick in 2021, be coaching offense for the first time since 2005, when he was the Patriots' assistant O-line coach.
Belichick has yet to announce who will call offensive plays this season. The Patriots do not have any assistants on staff who have done so at the NFL level, nor any who have coached pro quarterbacks -- a risky setup with the promising Mac Jones entering his second season.
Peppers, a Giants team captain in each of the last two seasons, said he has a "great relationship" with Judge, listing the latter's return to New England and the chance to play under Belichick as the two main factors that motivated him to sign with the Patriots.
