Saquon Barkley wiped the tears from his eyes in the lowest moment of his football career and saw Joe Judge’s face.
As some of the longest-tenured Giants prepare to face their former head coach for the first time, when Judge returns Sunday to MetLife Stadium in his role as Patriots assistant head coach, Barkley shared a lasting memory about the aftermath of tearing his ACL on Sept. 20, 2020.
“I’m sitting there bawling and I look up and he’s the one that told me it’s going to be a hell of a [comeback] story,” Barkley said after Friday’s practice. “From that moment, my whole mantra was like, ‘This is not over. I’m going to be OK. I’m going to find a way. I’m going to work my butt off and get back to the player that I’m known to be and the player that I know that I am.’ So, I’ve got nothing but tremendous respect for Joe.”
Judge went 10-23 during two seasons as Giants head coach, but the end snuck up fast.
After nearly winning a historically bad NFC East with a 6-10 record in 2019, the 2020 Giants were 4-7 and coming off a win against the Eagles when Daniel Jones suffered a would-be season-ending neck injury that caused the offense to tank with backup quarterbacks and an interim offensive coordinator.
A frustrated Judge went on a costly 11-minute postgame rant defending the team’s hidden progress.
Judge hoped to add then-Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to his 2021 staff if Daboll did not get a head-coaching job, according to the details of a lawsuit filed against the NFL, the Giants and two other teams by former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores.
Instead, the Giants hired Daboll as Judge’s successor. Judge, Daboll and Flores were Patriots assistants together for four years (2013-16).
“During the season you’re not talking to a lot of coaches on other staffs — you’re really focused on your staff — but got a lot of respect for Joe, too,” Daboll said. “I’d say it’s [a] good [relationship].”
Wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton both plan to chat with Judge before or after the game.
Judge’s thoughts on the game are unknown because the Patriots are not compelled to make him available to the media, as he is not a coordinator or position coach.
“He hasn’t done anything but treat me with respect,” said Shepard, who first met Judge during workouts when he was part of the 2016 draft class. “Was he a tough coach and his practice style different than I’ve seen before? Yes, but that’s who he is. And he’s a great dude.”
Judge nearly was hired by his alma mater, Mississippi State, as head coach in January 2020 before the Giants swooped in on a recommendation from Bill Belichick, after Mike McCarthy (Cowboys) and Matt Rhule (Panthers) were hired elsewhere.
The Mississippi State job is vacant again.
“With Judge, obviously the biggest thing was focus on the little things and the details,” Barkley said. “That’s something that I’ll always take.”
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