The New York Giants fired head coach Joe Judge on Tuesday. Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants have cleaned house, firing coach Joe Judge a day after general manager Dave Gettleman retired.
The Giants announced the move late Tuesday afternoon, ending some brief speculation that the owners planned to hire a new general manager and let him determine the 40-year-old coach’s fate.
Judge posted a 10-23 record in two seasons, including an embarrassing 4-13 mark this past season. The campaign ended with a six-game losing streak in which the offense did almost nothing with quarterback Daniel Jones sidelined with a neck injury.
Co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch said they felt it was best for the Giants to move in another direction after five straight seasons of double-digit losses.
The Giants have made the playoffs once since winning the Super Bowl in February 2012. They have gone through four coaches in the past six seasons, starting with Ben McAdoo in 2016, interim coach Steve Spagnuolo, Pat Shurmur in 2018 and Judge who was hired in 2020.
Mara said he met with Judge on Monday and again on Tuesday, informing him of the decision at the second meeting.
“I said before the season started that I wanted to feel good about the direction we were headed when we played our last game of the season. Unfortunately, I cannot make that statement, which is why we have made this decision,” Mara said.
A former special teams coordinator with the Patriots who was mentored by Bill Belichick in New England and by Nick Saban at Alabama, Judge promised to bring a tough, hard-nosed brand of football back to the area. It was the kind of football Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin taught in building four champions.
There was no doubt the Giants played hard under Judge. They never gave up. They just didn’t win enough, especially this season which was marked by at least a dozen season-ending injuries. The O-line lost two starters in the first two weeks of the season, and leading tackler and linebacker Blake Martinez went down early.
Judge did seem to unite the Giants. There was little dissent. He repeatedly said he was changing the attitude and that would be a part of the process to build a winner.
Now, the new general manager will hire another coach to try to turn the Giants around yet again.
“This will be a comprehensive search for our next general manager,” said Mara upon Gettleman’s retirement. “We are looking for a person who demonstrates exceptional leadership and communication abilities, somebody who will oversee all aspects of our football operations, including player personnel, college scouting and coaching.”
The Giants have already put together a list of nine GM candidates they plan to interview, including long-time assistant general manager Kevin Abrams. He might be a hard sell for fans because he has been associated with the organization for more than two decades. The team has made the playoffs once (2016) since winning its fourth Super Bowl in February 2012.
The others on the list are Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen; Tennessee director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort; Titans VP of player personnel Ryan Cowden; Chiefs chief executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles; Cardinals VP of player personnel Quentin Harris, Cardinals VP of pro personnel Adrian Wilson, 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters and 49ers director of player personnel Ran Carthon.
Giants fans should be familiar with Carthon. The 40-year-old is the son of former fullback Maurice Carthon, who was a member of Parcells’ Super Bowl-winning teams in the 1986 and ’90 seasons.
Ran Carthon was a running back at Florida and he had a short NFL career with the Colts and Lions. He was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as a scout in 2008, went to the Rams in 2012 as director of player personnel and joined the 49ers in 2017.
STEELERS: Pittsburgh could be close to fully healthy when they travel to Kansas City to take on the AFC West champion Chiefs in the opening round of the playoffs on Sunday.
Pittsburgh Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday running back Najee Harris, cornerback Arthur Maulet, left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and linebacker Robert Spillane could be available as the seventh-seeded Steelers (9-7-1) try to upset second-seeded Kansas City (12-5).
Harris played most of Sunday’s overtime victory over Baltimore with a sleeve over his injured right elbow after getting it twisted while getting tackled in the first quarter. The rookie finished with 11 carries for 28 yards and added four receptions for 27 yards.
Tomlin indicated Harris would possibly be limited early in the week, though he allowed it may be difficult to keep the energetic 23-year-old in check.
FALCONS: Atlanta General Manager Terry Fontenot said he’s not ready to make 2022 plans to be without Calvin Ridley, the team’s top wide receiver who missed the final 11 games of the season while addressing mental health issues.
Fontenot and his staff have launched their offseason which will include player evaluations and ranking needs for the NFL draft on April 28-30 and free agency. The Falcons have the No. 8 overall pick in the first round of the draft.
Ridley’s immediate and long-term future with the Falcons remained uncertain for the final two months of the season after he was a last-minute scratch before the team’s 19-13 loss to Carolina on Oct. 31.
On that day, Ridley explained his absence when he wrote on his Twitter account “I need to step away from football at this time and focus on my mental well being.”
Ridley has not provided another update on his plans.
EAGLES: Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is more focused on Tom Brady and the Buccaneers than interviewing for head coaching openings.
Gannon would only confirm the Denver Broncos requested an interview with him.
“My sole focus is on Tampa Bay,” Gannon said Tuesday.
The first-year coordinator said he’ll discuss the opportunity with Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman and Coach Nick Sirianni.
SEAHAWKS: Backup quarterback Geno Smith’s arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence came after the Washington State Patrol pulled him over for going 96 mph in a 60 mph zone and driving erratically across several lanes of traffic, according to an arrest report.
Smith was arrested Monday morning following the Seahawks’ return from Arizona after their last game of the season. According to the arrest report, the state trooper “detected a strong odor of intoxicants and observed the driver had bloodshot, watery eyes.” Smith told the state trooper he had some wine earlier in the night but had stopped drinking 90 minutes before he was pulled over.
Smith declined to take a preliminary breath test and a judge issued a search warrant for a blood draw. Smith was taken to a hospital where he became agitated prior to the blood draw, even with the Seahawks’ director of team security present to try to calm Smith down, according to the report. Restraints were used to complete the process, troopers wrote.
Smith was then transported to the King County Correctional Facility. He was released on $1,000 bail later Monday.
Smith’s attorney Jon Fox issued a statement Monday that said his client is cooperating with investigators. “I hope that an open mind can be kept by all as the facts are ascertained,” Fox said.
BROWNS: Baker Mayfield’s subpar season didn’t cost him his starting job, with General Manager Andrew Berry saying the Browns “fully expect” Mayfield to return as their quarterback after an injury-plagued 2021.
Mayfield played most of the season with a torn labrum in his left, nonthrowing shoulder, and the injury contributed to him regressing and the Browns (8-9) missing the playoffs. He’ll have surgery on Jan. 19.
Mayfield’s shaky season – and the team’s hesitancy to sign him to a long-term extension – fueled speculation the Browns might go in another direction at quarterback.
That’s still possible. It is the unpredictable NFL after all, and things can change in a heartbeat or with one phone call.
But Berry at least temporarily kept the polarizing QB on top of the depth chart.
The Browns exercising Mayfield’s $18.9 million contract option for next season. So unless they have a trade in mind or are convinced they can find a significant upgrade in free agency, Mayfield may be the Browns’ best option.
PANTHERS: Carolina fired three assistant coaches, including special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn, offensive line coach Pat Meyer and defensive line coach Frank Okam.
SENIOR BOWL: The New York Jets and Detroit Lions will get an up-close look at some of college football’s top players at the Senior Bowl.
The coaching staffs of both teams were assigned by NFL Football Operations to lead the all-star squads for the game in Mobile, Alabama, on Feb. 5.
JETS: New York is raising its ticket prices an average of 3% in the team’s first increase since 2016.
The Jets, coming off a 4-13 campaign and an 11th straight season without a playoff appearance, kept ticket prices stagnant the last few years. But as the cost of everyday living has risen around the country, Jets fans will now have to also pay slightly more to watch their team play at MetLife Stadium.
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