Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

Joe Judge talked to plenty of coaches as he's prepared for his first season with the Giants, and he asked all of them the same question: "What's the one thing that came up that you never knew existed?"

"Everybody has a different answer," he said.

And surely none of them had an answer as wild as his.

He probably could have gotten advice for how to deal with two offseason player arrests, or how to talk to his players in the midst of nationwide protests, and even how to react if they choose to protest themselves. But no one could have helped the 38-year-old prepare for coaching in the age of COVID-19, which has been a dark cloud over his first five months on the job.

And it hasn't just been the inconvenience of being locked out of his new office for three months (until recently), having to participate in a virtual draft, or addressing his team in video meetings only. There's also the constant shifting of plans, the never-ending worry about the health of his players, and the uncertainty as the NFL continues to work on the protocols to get the league back in their buildings and onto the fields.

How is a first-year coach supposed to install new systems, win the trust of his players, and build a team in the shadow of all that?

"They were legit concerns because we had not yet worked in this kind of a virtual meeting setting, and we had to work hard at making sure we broke down those virtual walls," Judge said in a recent interview with SNY. "I think our coaching staff and players did a tremendous job of doing that. There was a lot of interaction. We were able to do enough this spring that I feel we're not coming into this training camp as strangers."

That's good, of course, and it could be a big help for the Giants when (or if) they open training camp this summer (they're currently scheduled to open on July 28). But that's far from the only issue created by the coronavirus pandemic.

There are spikes in the COVID-19 rates all across the country -- in 18 states so far, according the Centers for Disease Control -- and Judge's players are still scattered across the country. He said last month he's worried about flying players in for camp when he admittedly "wouldn't be the first one most willing to throw my two sons on the plane to go the other way," but his players are at risk just staying where they are, too.

That point was driven home earlier this week when NFL Network reported that several players on the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys -- including running back Ezekiel Elliott -- had tested positive for COVID-19. Judge declined to say if any Giants players had tested positive yet, citing HIPAA privacy laws, but it seems inevitable that one of them will.

"We've stressed with the players and coaches: Let's just be smart with the decisions we make and understand, especially as we get into the season, that we have to make the best choices for the team," Judge said. "And that includes the environments we put ourselves in and who we surround ourselves with in terms of crowds and going to restaurants."

Video: FNNY: What will the 2020 NFL preseason look like?

And yes, that includes the head coach.

"It wouldn't be fair for me to go out and put myself in a situation where I get infected, and then I come back and possibly infect other guys on the team," Judge said. "Now I'm affecting the team."

Of course, it's not that simple. No one can just avoid crowds and wear a mask and think they're completely safe -- a fact that has been on Judge's mind as he moved his family from Massachusetts to their new New Jersey home. He was recently able to return to his office at the Giants' facility, briefly, but he's mostly been working from home, and likely will be until training camp opens. That keeps him around his family, and as the tri-state area continues to open up, they'll be able to go out in public more and interact with other people, which increases the risk of infection for all of them.

The same will be true of the players, with their families and friends. Because even when camp opens it's not like they'll be living in a bubble, isolated from the rest of the world.

"Even when the season comes we're not all together at all times," Judge said. "Guys go home at the end of the night. There are other things you have to think about. Where are people's wives and families? My children are going to be starting school down here in the fall. How does that look? Does there come a point where I've almost got to separate myself a little bit at home? How does that look in terms of making sure my family gets tested, maybe on a regular basis, so I know what I'm exposing myself to and I'm not bringing that to the team and I'm making the right decisions for them?"

Those are all good questions, for which there are no answers at the moment. It's true that all 32 NFL head coaches are dealing with the same issues. It's just harder for the new coaches who are just beginning to build their programs, and it has to be hardest for a man like Judge who has never been a head coach on any level before.

And there was no one for Judge to turn to for advice on dealing with all that.

"There's no manual to follow and no template to just check the boxes as you go," Judge said. "So the interesting thing to me, as we've done already, is just be ready to adapt. We're all coming in with a plan, but that plan is going to change. So we're going to be ready to adapt and adjust on the fly. I feel we have good, flexible coaches who understand that and can adjust on the fly, and we have a team full of guys who are learning that that's the way we're going to have to work and operate. We're going to go in with one game plan, but by the time the game's over, it may be something completely different. We've got to be flexible in what we do."

Popular in the Community