Patriots Rumors: Joe Judge to Be Asst. HC Under Bill Belichick, Work on Special Teams

It was already known that Joe Judge was going to remain on the New England Patriots coaching staff for the 2023 season, but now there is more clarity on what his role will be.

Per Albert Breer of NBC Sports Boston and The MMQB, Judge is going to be an assistant head coach for Bill Belichick and "work closely" with the special teams unit.

After spending two seasons as head coach of the New York Giants, Judge returned to the Patriots last year as an offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach.

Bill O'Brien was hired to be New England's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in January, leaving Judge's status with the organization up in the air.

The Athletic's Jeff Howe reported on Jan. 26 that Judge was going to remain on Belichick's staff in a role that had not yet been determined.

Last week, ESPN's Mike Reiss noted there was some belief that Judge's title would be as a senior adviser to Belichick based on comments Devin McCourty made in a radio interview.

Appearing on The Greg Hill Show on WEEI (h/t Dakota Randall of NESN.com), McCourty said Judge was in Belichick's office when he to inform the Patriots' head coach about his decision to retire from the NFL.

Judge began his NFL coaching career with the Patriots in 2012 as a special team assistant. He eventually worked his way up to being special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach.

The Giants hired Judge as their head coach in January 2020. He went 10-23 in two seasons before being fired on Jan. 11, 2022.

During his first stint on the Patriots' coaching staff, Judge won three Super Bowl titles. The 41-year-old also won two BCS national titles in 2009 and 2011 as Alabama's special teams assistant.