Ex-Giants coach may call plays for Patriots

Maybe Joe Judge really wasn’t kidding when he included himself as a possibility to take over offensive play-calling for the Giants after firing coordinator Jason Garrett during the middle of last season.

Seven months later, the surprisingly fired former Giants head coach is in line to coach quarterbacks and possibly call plays for the New England Patriots in his role as a nondescript offensive assistant. Mac Jones is entering his pivotal second year of development as the Patriots quarterback.

“In terms of who is coaching each position, you’ll see me on the field with the quarterbacks,” Judge told reporters Thursday in his first interview since rejoining the Patriots for a second stint (2012-19). “I am working with Mac, along with all the skill group on offense. I’d say all of us are working collectively as a coaching unit with the entire offense. We’ll be meeting together as a skill group, and we’ll break off into individual meetings.”

Most of Judge’s coaching background is on special teams. He added receivers to his résumé in 2019 — his final season before he was hired to lead the Giants.

The Patriots did not hire an offensive coordinator to replace new Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. The favorites to call plays appear to be Judge and former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia, whose background is in defense.

“Look, I’ll tell you directly and honestly right now, nothing has been declared or decided or voiced to me,” Judge said. “In terms of who calls plays, to be honest with you, that’s not the main focus right now. When Coach [Bill Belichick] wants to go ahead and declare a role like that, he’ll tell us.”

The irony is that the ineptitude of the Giants’ offense is arguably the biggest reason Judge was fired. The Giants averaged 17.2 points per game in 26 games with Garrett as the play-caller, and Judge said that “everything is on the table” in the aftermath of making the in-season change.

The idea of Judge calling the plays seemed like a stretch at the time — just a wrinkle that might force an opponent to prepare for more and create a competitive advantage. The Giants went with a staff-collaborative approach that sounds similar to what the Patriots are trying.