The Bond Giants Head Coach Joe Judge Shares With Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh no longer is the only head coach in the NFL with a predominant special teams background.

When the Giants hired head coach Joe Judge, a career special teams coach, back in January, it marked a stark change in the organization's thinking in that instead of going with an offensive guru or a defensive mind, they opted for a special teams coach.

So far, things have worked out for the Giants with Judge, who this weekend will stand across the field from another special teams coach turned head coach who has worked out pretty well for his club.

That would be Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, once the special teams coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Harbaugh, who has followed in the footsteps of Dick Vermeil, is on his 12th season in charge of the Ravens and has a Super Bowl ring and eight playoff berths under his belt. 

While special teams coordinators becoming head coaches is unusual in the NFL, Harbaugh is glad to see Judge get his opportunity and believes that more special teams coordinators should get a serious look at potential head-coaching candidates.  

"I'm surprised more teams don't go that route," Harbaugh said. "There have been some great, great coaches who have been coaching special teams in this league for a long time back to when I first broke in in ‘98–the Pete Rodriguezes and the Scott O’Briens and the Brad Seelys and Joe Avezzanos–just amazing coaches that never really got a shot. But to see Joe be able to do that.

Harbaugh hopes that Judge's success helps to net more head-coaching opportunities for special teams coaches whom he feels are just as qualified to become head coaches as their offensive and defensive counterparts. 

"There are a lot of qualities and qualifications and different kinds of people that get overlooked over the years and certainly special teams coaches fall in that category," Harbaugh said. 

"Those guys have been the guys that deal with more than one position, they deal with more than one phase, more than one side of the ball, they deal with every player on the team every day. That does lead itself to a lot of things that go with head coaching so hopefully more guys will get a chance."

Judge, who coached special teams in New England from 2012-19 and took on additional responsibilities as wide receivers coach in 2019, learned from another head coach who also got his start with special teams — with the Giants no less. 

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is famed for his work as the Giants' defensive coordinator from 1985-1990. But before Belichick rose to fame in his role as defensive coordinator, he served as the Giants' special teams coordinator in 1979, just one year after serving as a special teams assistant for the Denver Broncos.

Harbaugh has all-but engraved his name into the list of former special teams coaches that went on to build a legacy as a successful head coach — a list the Giants are hoping Judge joins. 

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So far, Judge has not quite lived up to the precedent that Harbaugh set in his first year as a head coach.

In 2008, Harbaugh took over a Ravens team that finished 5-11 the season and flipped the team to an 11-5 record and an AFC Championship game appearance. Meanwhile, the Giants are currently 5-11 and are fighting for a playoff berth.  

In fairness, Harbaugh took over a roster highlighted by future Hall-of-Fame cornerstones like linebacker Ray Lewis, edge rusher Terrell Suggs and safety Ed Reed. Harbaugh also had top-tier contributors like defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, offensive tackle Willie Anderson, and defensive end Trevor Price. 

Judge's Giants don't boast any players with the credentials that Harbaugh inherited. However, if you're looking for a silver lining, it's that Judge is still coaching meaningful football in Week 16 as the Giants are looking to climb back into first place in the NFC East this Sunday with a win against Harbaugh's Ravens while Harbaugh and his team are looking to keep their playoff hopes alive as well.

With the NFL coaching carousel having begun, Harbaugh hopes that more assistant coaches that share that special teams background receive serious consideration for the head coaching vacancies. 

"I think everybody wants to do the best they can, they want to be successful, they want to hire the best coach, the one that’s going to fit their needs and be successful. But sometimes I think that it just depends what they’re looking for," he said. 

"There’s a lot of qualities and qualifications, and different kinds of people get overlooked over the years, but certainly special teams coaches fall in that category. Those guys, they deal with more than one position, they deal with really more than one phase, one side of the ball, they’re dealing with every player on the team every day, and I think that does lead itself to a lot of things that go with head coaching.