Art Stapleton | NFL writer

Art Stapleton, Staff Writer, @art_stapleton

The New York Giants are hiring New England Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge as their next head coach.

Giants co-owner and team president John Mara, general manager Dave Gettleman and vice president of football operations Kevin Abrams had met with Judge in East Rutherford on Monday..

The team began its search for Pat Shurmur's successor last Thursday with a meeting with Dallas Cowboys passing game coordinator Kris Richard. The process continued Friday with former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who eventually agreed to become the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. The Giants also interviewed Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on Saturday.

Here are three things to know about the 38-year-old Judge:

The resume

Judge has three Super Bowl rings as a member of Bill Belichick’s staff in New England, where he has served as special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach. Before joining the Patriots in 2012, he spent three years on staff with Nick Saban at Alabama.

Judge served as special teams assistant for three seasons with Belichick before ascending to the coordinator role after the 2014 season. He added the title of wide receivers coach last year when Chad O'Shea was hired as offensive coordinator by the Miami Dolphins.

The journey

In his playing days, Judge was a backup quarterback at Mississippi State. He never ascended to the top of the depth chart, but earned a role on special teams, first as a holder on the field goal unit and ultimately as a punt protector.

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Judge knew he wanted to be in coaching, so when his playing days were over, he spent two years as a graduate assistant at his alma mater. In waiting for his next opportunity, Judge taught kindergarten physical education before he got a call to join the coaching staff at Division III Birmingham-Southern.

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He coached the linebackers there for one year before getting the call from Saban. The rest is history, and Judge has seemingly been on a fast track ever since.

The verdict

If Belichick and Saban have good things to say about a candidate, smart teams listen.

Judge has no apparent ties to the organization, which means he can offer fresh ideas and a glimpse into what the perception may be from the outside looking in.

When Josh McDaniels was on the verge of accepting the Colts' job two years ago, Judge was set to follow him to Indianapolis. Both are good young coaches unafraid of offering suggestions about how to do things in today's NFL.