Joe Judge Returning To New England Patriots’ Sideline As Offensive Assistant

After two seasons in East Rutherford, Joe Judge is returning to the New England Patriots as an offensive assistant, the organization announced Tuesday afternoon.

Judge, 40, posted a 10-23 record as head coach of the New York Giants before being fired in January. The three-year Mississippi State letterman will now make his way back to the sideline he arrived on in 2012 after stops at his alma mater as well as Birmingham-Southern and Alabama.

A football analyst and special teams assistant under Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban, Judge was a member of national championship teams in 2009 and 2011. Three Super Bowl rings followed as part of New England’s coaching staff.

Judge served as special teams coordinator from 2015 through 2019 after Scott O’Brien transitioned to a role in the personnel department as an area scout. Over that span, Pro Football Focus graded the kicking game as high as No. 1 and no lower than No. 10 around the league.

The former quarterback then doubled as the wide receivers coach in the final year of previous stay after Chad O’Shea was hired as the offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told reporters that Judge “can probably coach any position on the field” as training camp opened that July. A similar sentiment was shared last August during a press conference leading up to joint practices with the Giants at Gillette Stadium.

“Joe’s a good football coach. Period,” Belichick said as the annual preseason finale neared. “All the things that a good coach needs to do, Joe does. And he did a great job here for me in a number of different capacities. Most importantly, special teams, but he had a lot of other responsibilities, as well. When I gave him something to do, he did a good job of it, and so that led to other things. I know he’s like a very, just accomplished football coach. He has a good understanding of the game and how to coach it.”

Coaching turnover has been seen in Foxborough since the calendar turned from January to February.

The Las Vegas Raiders introduced offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as head coach last week. Assistant quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree has agreed to join him and new general manager Dave Ziegler in the AFC West. Additionally, veteran running backs coach Ivan Fears is reportedly expected to retire after 25 seasons with the Patriots and 31 seasons in the NFL.

Play-calling duties remain an area of unknown entering 2022. The potential internal options range from tight ends coach Nick Caley to wide receivers coach Mick Lombardi. The potential outside options range from current Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien to recent New York Jets head coach Adam Gase.

According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, New England may not ultimately hire an offensive coordinator for the upcoming campaign. Tuesday’s re-hire, however, adds a layer of familiarity and flexibility as responsibilities shift on that side of the ball.

And an official title for Judge.