Sources: Joe Judge's job appears safe for next season

John Mara doesn’t like change, and he certainly doesn’t like to make changes in rapid-fire succession. He has long understood that sports franchises can’t thrive when they’re being run like the boss is just throwing darts at a wall.

So it was embarrassing to him that in a four-year span, he fired three head coaches and a general manager, with two of those coaches getting only two years or less on the job. That’s why, on the day he presented Joe Judge to the world in early 2020, he promised “a little more patience” with his newest hire.

And it sure sounds like he’s going to practice what he preached.

Judge is widely expected to be brought back for his third season with the Giants, despite an immensely disappointing season and a dismal 10-19 record as a head coach overall. Though nothing is final until Mara and Steve Tisch say it is, multiple team and league sources said the belief is Judge’s job is safe – and that’s even if, as expected, ownership nudges GM Dave Gettleman into retirement at the end of the year.

“A few weeks ago I would’ve told you no chance he gets fired,” said one NFL source. “Now? Even after (the Giants’ 37-21 loss to the Chargers on Sunday), I’d probably still say ‘No chance.’ (Mara) loves Judge. He thinks he’s found his (Bill) Belichick or (Bill) Parcells. And there’s just no way he gives up on another coach this soon.”

Ownership hasn’t spoken to the media at large since back in August, when Mara made it clear he thought these Giants had the makings of a playoff team, even as he refused to issue a "playoff mandate." In his one interview since then, Mara told the New York Post he still had as much belief in Judge as ever, and he indicated he blamed the team’s struggles on injuries.

But that interview came after the Giants beat the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 24. They were 2-5 then. They’ve gone 2-4 since and just clinched their fifth straight losing season. They will soon be eliminated from playoff contention for a fifth straight season, too.

Judge declined to comment Monday on his “hypothetical future,” but in a conference call with the media from Los Angeles before boarding the team charter flight home, Judge sure sounded like a coach who believes his job is safe. 

In the immediate aftermath of the loss in L.A. that dropped his team to 4-9, he spoke about the “big picture” and the team’s “long-term” plans. Then, on Monday morning, he went even further, making a strong case that his work with the Giants has only just begun.

“I’ve said this from the beginning: I’m not interested in having some kind of quick flash,” Judge said. “I’m not interested in shortcuts. I’m not interested in quick fixes. I want to do this the right way. When I took this job I made it very, very clear that I was only going to do this if we’re all committed to doing this the right way.

“And that’s something that’s been very clear from ownership on down.”

Judge wouldn’t say if he’s spoken to Mara or Tisch about his future, but one source who had spoken to Mara in recent weeks said the co-owner continues to praise Judge and seems to believe he’s the right coach to turn the program around. The source added that Mara believes Judge has brought some much-needed changes to the organization – both “cultural and structural,” the source said -- after four years of “chaos” following the departure of Tom Coughlin.

Judge detailed some of those changes on Monday, saying as part of this rebuilding project he had to teach players how to practice – something he said “took a lot longer than I thought, to be honest with you” – bring the “right guys” into the building to change the culture, and make changes to internal details such as the nutrition program for players. He insisted those things all had to come first before the winning would start.

“It’s a production business. We understand that,” he said. “But before you start getting all the results that everyone can see, you’ve got to get everything behind the scenes right.”

That may be true, but the Giants spent a lot of money in the last few years with the idea of being a playoff contender now. And back in August, Mara said, “I feel better about what we have on the field than I have in years.”

His disappointment should be evident when he shakes up his front office the day after the regular season, if not sooner. But apparently Mara’s disappointment will have its limits. 

Judge, meanwhile, is still making plans as if he knows he’ll be back in 2022 – and maybe beyond.