New York Giants fire coach Joe Judge after just two seasons

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The New York Giants fired coach Joe Judge on Tuesday after two losing seasons.

Dave Gettleman retired after four seasons as general manager.

John Mara and Steve Tisch both believe that it is in the best interest of the Giants to move in another direction. We met with Joe yesterday to discuss the state of the team. I told Joe of our decision after we met again this afternoon. Joe's efforts were appreciated by the organization.

When we played our last game of the season, I wanted to feel good about the direction we were headed. I can't make that statement, which is why we made this decision.

A general manager will be hired to lead the effort to find a new head coach.

Judge went 10-23 in his two years as a head coach. He is the third Giants coach to be fired after two seasons or less, following Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur, as the once-proud franchise stumbles through one of the worst 10-year stretches in its history.

The Giants were big spenders last year and the expectation was that they would make the playoffs. Judge was doomed by a slow start. New York has missed the playoffs nine of the past 10 seasons under him.

Judge blew the Giants away during the interview process. He had been with the New England Patriots for eight seasons, most of it as the special teams coach. He was at the University of Alabama with Nick Saban. The Giants looked to shake up their organization, and the stamp of approval from the coach was important in helping Judge get hired.

His tenure ends without him being able to see his plan through. The Giants were willing to move on quickly. Mara regretted firing McAdoo before his third season as head coach. Mara provided public support for Judge this season.

Mara told the New York Post that his belief in Judge remains strong. We've struggled this year, but he has not lost the locker room, and I've seen that happen over the years. The players believe in him. We have to get our guys healthy again.

The Giants were going to bring Judge back for the 2022 season, according to a report by Adam Schefter. Judge's team went on to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears in back-to-back games. The Giants lost again in Week 18, this time at home, to Washington, and it will be remembered for the quarterback sneaks from near their own goal line in the second quarter.

Judge answered a question about why fans should have faith in the Giants after they lost to the Bears. There were examples of the culture that has been built, a locker room that has been fumigated, and the work ethic and effort the current players have shown during the week and on game days. There were claims of former players calling to tell Judge they missed the Giants and current players making their pleas to return.

This team is not having fistfights on the sideline. Judge said this is not a clown show organization. You talk about the foundation. The way people think is the most difficult thing to change in a team. Are you aware of that? The toughest thing is that. You can get new players. You can have the locker room you want. You need to change how people think. You have to change the way they think about you. They need to trust the process. It's a lot easier to say that when they're looking up and you have one game left and the most you can win is five.

The Giants missed a lot of games because of injury. Their key offensive players missed at least two games.