Giants introduce Joe Judge as new head coach

Art Stapleton | NFL writer

Joe Judge and the Giants are at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, as preparation for the 2020 NFL Draft kicks into high gear.

Here are 10 thoughts as Judge finalizes his coaching staff with some familiar names:

Judge is following his blueprint

The makeup of Judge's staff mirrors what he said he wanted with a lean toward familiarity and experience.

"I don’t want any alternative agendas, I’m making that clear right now. There is not going to be a coach in our organization who has nothing but the best interest in the players at hand and isn’t going to come to work every day and put their butt on the line for the guys who are going to work hard for them," Judge said at his introductory news conference. "I want teachers, not presenters. I don’t want someone who looks fancy in front of the screen that can say it with a lot of different sales lines. I want teachers, I want old school people who can get to our players and give them the mental image of what it’s supposed to look like."

NorthJersey.com file

Jason Garrett's return

Garrett has been away from New Jersey in a football capacity for a while now, but that has not stopped him from coming back to the Jersey Shore every summer. In addition to his parents' connection to Rutherford and Garrett's ties to Princeton and the Giants, for four years as the backup quarterback to Kerry Collins, this has always felt like another home.

So maybe it should come as no surprise that Garrett jumped right back into coaching following a decade at the helm of Jerry Jones' franchise in Dallas. His gridiron marriage with Judge has a Nick Saban bond, of course, and Garrett's relationship with members of the Mara and Tisch families runs deep.

This represents a chance for Garrett to dive back into something he was very good at: calling plans and developing an offense. An important key here will be Garrett's willingness to craft a playbook based on a learned philosophy through the years of how the league has grown, adapting to the personnel with the Giants and what works here schematically that matches up with Judge's vision.

The 'what if Garrett leaves' debate

This quickly emerged as a concern when news of Garrett's hiring hit last Friday night: what if he leaves the Giants after one season for another head coaching job, and on the heels of that, the notion that Daniel Jones would be on his third system in three years?

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Certainly that's a valid concern, but not without one enormous component: things will have had to go really well for Garrett with the Giants for that opportunity to arise.

And if that were to happen, it's not a stretch to think Jones' maturation played a big part in a proposed Garrett departure. If that's the case, you'd think that, say, quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski would have been schooled enough in the system established by Garrett and Judge to continue without much being lost in transition heading into 2021. There's also the idea that, if the Giants do well enough to get Garrett another head coaching job, other established or up-and-coming coordinators will want to join Judge and be a part of that.

Will Freddie Kitchens be joining Judge?

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Freddie Kitchens went down in a blaze of glory this past season in his first head coaching opportunity with the Browns. That doesn't mean he's not a good coach, and if anything, there likely is some urgency for Kitchens to get back to work and re-establish himself in a different capacity.

The expectation is that could happen for Kitchens with the Giants as he will likely join Judge's staff on the offensive side of the ball. The two worked together at Mississippi State when Judge was a graduate assistant, and Kitchens has spent time under three respected and proven head coaches: Saban (at LSU in 2000), Bill Parcells (Cowboys in 2006) and Bruce Arians (Cardinals from 2013-17).

Kitchens also has experience coaching tight ends, so he could fill that vacancy as Lunda Wells joined Mike McCarthy with the Cowboys. The Athletic reported Wednesday night that Judge has also interviewed former Georgia coach Derek Dooley, and that Kitchens might not be as much of a lock to join the Giants as was initially reported.

Will Kitchens have to bring his tools?

Not only could Judge bring Kitchens to New Jersey, but Jody Wright as well. All were part of Judge's most memorable building project.

If that were to happen, Kitchens might want to bring his tool box to repay the favor Judge and Wright did for him when they were grad assistants at Mississippi State: building the swing set in Kitchens' backyard for his daughters.

AP

Putting a lot on the line

Bill Callahan was the big fish on the market, and although there were discussions to bring him aboard with the Giants, he ended up joining Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland. Some of that may have had to do with lingering issues with Garrett stemming from their time together in Dallas, even with league sources indicating that the two coaches had worked out their differences.

The Giants' job could come down to Marc Colombo, who worked with Garrett in Dallas, and Dave DeGuglielmo, who worked with Judge for two years in New England. Both would be good hires, but Colombo offers more of a longer-term choice. DeGuglielmo has bounced around a lot in recent years, including a one-year stint in Indianapolis despite doing a very good job.

Burton Burns' pedigree precedes him

Mark Ingram reached out to Saquon Barkley via Twitter shortly after news broke that Burton Burns would be leaving Alabama to join Judge's staff with the Giants.

The effusive praise has continued to pour in regarding Burns' anticipated addition as running backs coach. He coached multiple Heisman Trophy winners at Alabama (Ingram, Derrick Henry) and it will be interesting to watch his approach with Barkley at this level.

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Secondary emerges as priority

Jerome Henderson served as Atlanta’s secondary coach/defensive passing game coordinator.before being dismissed at season's end. He was with the Falcons for four years, and before that he coached with Garrett for four years in Dallas.

This is yet another important hire for Judge, who will need to get more out of the defensive backs, especially rookies DeAndre Baker, Julian Love and Corey Ballentine and second-year pros Sam Beal and Grant Haley. The Giants need to make decisions regarding resources already poured into this position, especially corner, and having parted ways with Janoris Jenkins, you'd think at least one veteran will be added in free agency.

Bret Bielema is an intriguing addition

The former Arkansas and Wisconsin coach had been rumored to be in discussion for the defensive coordinator's job that went to Patrick Graham. So Bielema agreeing to join Judge after spending the last two years with Bill Belichick is a good get.

His role is uncertain at the moment, but run game or passing game coordinator could be an option with a focus on outside linebackers.

What about Antonio Pierce, Pepper Johnson?

The Giants certainly have an affinity for Pierce and Johnson, so their names have been bandied about for openings on Judge's defensive staff for weeks.

Pierce would be a home run at LB coach. Don't know how easy it will be to pry him from Herm Edwards' staff at Arizona State. They have a good thing going.

As for Johnson: he has a defensive coordinator job in the XFL, so he might want to ride that out for a year. His desire to return to the Giants as a position coach is uncertain.