"To me, coaching has always been teaching. I worked for a guy a while back who told me that teaching is just to inspire learning. To me, learning different methods of teaching is the biggest thing," Judge said. "There is no one way to teach. Everybody learns differently, and you have to really learn who the class is, who the students are, so you can reach everybody. You can't teach to the highest in the classroom, and if you only teach to the lowest in the classroom, you're going to miss others. You have to find ways to teach to the entire spectrum at the same time through different methods and keep everybody engaged."

Whether it's a classroom or a football meeting room, that ideology applies.

Even though Judge has been on the cusp of this degree for years, when asked if he knew about it, special teams captain Matthew Slater had no idea but wasn't totally shocked either.

"I'm not surprised at all. Joe is such a smart guy, having been around him for all these years now," Slater said. "He knows so much about so many different things. He's really committed himself to his craft here, but it doesn't surprise me that he would want to continue to acquire knowledge and advance himself."

As impressed as Slater, and others likely will be, to find out, Judge is quick to say he is not done and it is nothing to brag about quite yet.

"Until I really dive headfirst in and I'm down in Starkville defending my dissertation, to me, it's an incomplete process that's really not worth elaborating on to the team," Judge said.

Regardless of how long it takes, Judge intends to see the degree through as a testament to what he is capable of. When he initially started the coursework, Judge was a new father, envisioning sharing the moment with his son.

The mental picture may be different now, but it's still certainly there.

"When my first son, who is now turning 14 next week, he was knee-high when I started it," Judge said. "I guess I kind of pictured carrying him across the stage to get it. Now, he'll probably be driving me there."

As far as the timeline is concerned, Judge is hopeful that it will be done in the near future. He still checks in with his dissertation committee, and they have been understanding of his dual journey as a student and a coach.

"I've started the process of reaching out to some of members of my committee and letting them know that I'm going to wrap this thing up sooner than later," Judge said. "They kind of laughed about it and said it's about time. They've been supportive, and they all know what I'm doing. As long as I send a Patriots hat every once in a while, they all keep in good spirits."

The day the degree is finally complete, framed and hanging on a wall, Judge said he'll have a party, and though Dr. Judge has a regal ring to it, he's going to stay humble about it.

Well, kind of.