Losing to the Bears by a 29-3 margin must’ve been a tough pill to swallow. But the New York Giants appeared ready to shoulder that embarrassment WHILE retaining head coach Joe Judge for another season.
And then he opened his mouth. The 11-minute post-game rant was a New York tabloid’s dream. Not only for purely content purposes. But also, as it turns out, because it sounds like that is what was the beginning of the end of his time with the Giants in the eyes of owner John Mara.
What was the worst point of the 2021 season for Mara? Unfortunately for Judge, it changed from one week to the next. The 4-13 campaign spiraled downward with the thud of a six-game losing streak to close the year, and another cellar-dwelling finish in the NFC East. Moreover, Mara mentioned that he “wasn’t thrilled” with Judge’s 11-minute press conference rant following the team’s Week 17 loss, in which Judge took veiled shots at predecessor Pat Shurmur and rival Washington, while noting that former players continually contact him expressing their desire to return to the Giants.
“I can’t say that there was one specific act that was the last straw, it was just the culmination of things,” Mara said.
It’s OK, Mr. Mara. You can’t say it, but I can.
Losing to the Bears caused you to fire Joe Judge.
See, it wasn’t *THAT* difficult.
To be fair, that one was a doozy:
"There’s a lot of teams right now that are out of playoff contention. Whether it’s golf clubs in the locker room or people planning vacations outside of it, where there’s a lot of finger pointing and blaming and shouting, all that stuff…. we don't have any of that."
(2/6) pic.twitter.com/03P7hGKAax
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) January 3, 2022
"This ain’t a team that’s having fistfights on the sidelines. This ain’t some clown show organization or something else, okay?"
– Joe Judge
(4/6) pic.twitter.com/js7DOW5wt5
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) January 3, 2022
"The toughest thing to turn over in a program, the toughest thing to change, is how people think, okay? How they think. We've got guys right now that are wired the right way."
– Joe Judge
(6/6) pic.twitter.com/MDx4JykQmk
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) January 3, 2022
I transcribed every word of Joe Judge’s epic, angry postgame rant after the #Giants were killed by the Bears.
All told, it lasted 11 minutes, 7 seconds— and spanned 2,614 words.
Here is everything he said: https://t.co/uAelWmYT2r
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) January 2, 2022
The Giants join the Bears and Vikings as the only NFL teams looking for both a coach and general manager. In part, because Chicago’s football team beat its New York counterparts so soundly, that it drove the then-coach so off the rails that it led him to deliver a rant that ultimately cost him his job. Or, at minimum pushed things over the edge.
Consider it a reminder that the things you say can (and will!) be used against you at a moment’s notice. And because it, Judge won’t be at the helm when the Bears visit New Jersey later this year when the Giants play host to a showdown at MetLife Stadium.