Even before another miserable season ends, the New York Giants seem poised to retain both their head coach and their starting quarterback.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Sunday shortly before the Giants’ Week 16 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles that the team is “planning to bring back” both head coach Joe Judge and quarterback Daniel Jones for the 2022 season.
Judge compiled a 10-20 record as Giants head coach ahead of Sunday’s matchup in Philadelphia, offering little to suggest that he is turning around a franchise that has had five-straight double-digit loss seasons and just one winning season in their previous nine campaigns. After going 6-10 in his first season, the Giants currently sit at 4-10 in 2021.
Jones also appears to be getting a reprieve despite a third-consecutive season of not truly proving whether or not he can be the organization’s franchise quarterback of the future. The 24-year-old has yet to play a full season as a pro due to injury issues, including a neck injury that ended his 2021 season after just 11 games.
While he’s on the field, the Duke product has struggled mightily with turnovers — leading all quarterbacks since the start of the 2019 season in giveaways — while completing 62.8% of his passes for 8,398 yards and just 45 touchdowns in 38 games.
The decision to bring the two back is controversial enough based on their recent track record. It’s even more so when considering that team owner John Mara appears to be making the decisions without a front office in place for next year.
Last month, it was reported that general manager Dave Gettleman would not be returning in 2022 after four disappointing seasons of empty promises to get the Giants back on track. With a GM search in the cards for this offseason, Mara is limiting his team’s candidates by practically forcing a head coach and starting quarterback on them.
Trying to sell the top football minds available on taking over operations of a team that has shown zero indication of moving in the right direction after one of their worst decades in franchise history — all while effectively tying their hands of making vital decisions to turn things around — is sporting malpractice, should Schefter’s report be true.
