Ole Miss has added another assistant coach to their football staff.
Joe Judge, a former head coach of the Giants and Patriots assistant, is joining head coach Lane Kiffin’s team, according to multiple reports.
Per ESPN, Judge will serve as a senior analyst.
Along with Judge, Kiffin has also reportedly brought in Billy Glasscock from Texas, Zach Arnett from Mississippi State and Alex Brown from SMU.
Judge was an assistant head coach with the Patriots in 2023 — after losing the quarterbacks coach position he held with the team in 2022 — as the team went 4-13 and saw the end of Bill Belichick’s tenure in New England.
That came after a disappointing two-season stint at the helm for the Giants (2020-21) as Big Blue went 10-23 as the team failed to reach the postseason in either campaign.
Under Judge’s leadership, the Giants finished in 31st in scoring offense in both years, averaging just 15.2 points in 2021.
And while Judge was much-maligned during his Giants days, some of his former players did laud his abilities before the team took on the Patriots at MetLife Stadium last year.
“With Judge, obviously the biggest thing was focus on the little things and the details,” ex-Giants running back Saquon Barkley said. “That’s something that I’ll always take.”
He’ll now join a Rebels team that, last season, went 11-2 and beat Penn State in the Peach Bowl.
Their two losses came to Alabama and Georgia, the two teams who played in the SEC title game.
Kiffin hopes Judge and his other new hires, along with quarterback Jaxson Dart, who announced in January that he is returning for one more year, will push Ole Miss to the top of the SEC.
Dart threw for 3,364 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just five interceptions in 2023.
A good 2024 performance could elevate Dart to the No. 1 overall pick for the 2025 NFL draft.
His return, plus the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, likely gives Ole Miss its best-ever chance to make the playoffs.
