We're counting down the Top 10 New York sports stories of 2020. Let's kick things off with No. 10...
Since Tom Coughlin stepped down as head coach of the Giants following the 2015 season, the team had been in search of the franchise's next great coach.
Enter... Joe Judge?
After unsuccessful hires of Ben McAdoo (13-15) and Pat Shurmur (9-23), the Giants turned to the Bill Belichick coaching tree and hired the 38-year-old New England Patriots special teams coordinator on Jan. 7. It was a move that surprised many, as the leading candidates appeared to be either Mike McCarthy, who ended up in Dallas, or Matt Rhule, who took the Carolina job instead.
Judge's coaching career began as a grad assistant at Mississippi State, and he was a part of two Nick Saban national championship teams at Alabama as a special teams coach before joining the Patriots staff in 2012.
Though the team has had struggles, Judge has been solid so far in his first season as a head coach in the NFL, as the Giants still have a chance to win the NFC East. The franchise has not been to the playoffs since 2016, when they lost to the Green Bay Packers, 38-13, in the Wild Card round.
Judge's hire caught many people off guard, but the future looks bright for Big Blue's leading man.
