FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Former New England Patriots special-teams coordinator Joe Judge -- who was fired after two seasons as head coach of the New York Giants -- is returning to the franchise as an offensive assistant, it was announced Tuesday.
Judge coached with New England from 2012 to 2019 before becoming the Giants' head coach.
In his final season working under Bill Belichick, the 40-year-old Judge served as wide receivers coach in addition to his longtime role coordinating special teams.
Judge was then hired for his first NFL head-coaching job, going 10-23 in two seasons with the Giants. He had been set to become the head coach at Mississippi State, his alma mater, before the Giants offered him the job.
In Judge's final season in New England, Belichick had said that he "could probably coach any position on the field," crediting his teaching ability and knack for thinking quickly.
The Patriots are undergoing a significant change on their offensive coaching staff. They don't have an offensive coordinator after Josh McDaniels was named head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree is joining McDaniels, and it's possible other assistants could follow. In addition, veteran running backs coach Ivan Fears is expected to retire.
In past years, Belichick hasn't always given out titles at the outset when filling out his coaching staff. Judge's role, assuming there are no unexpected holdups, could depend on other additions to the staff.