Ole Miss hires former NFL head coach, assistant Joe Judge
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has made waves already this offseason with a few hires. At first it was snagging Billy Glasscock away from Texas. Then it was hiring former Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett. And to follow it up, the Rebels grabbed another general manager in SMU’s Alex Brown. Then, April 2, Kiffin hired former NFL director of personnel, Alex Williams. Now, Ole Miss has done it again with the hiring of former New York Giants head coach and longtime NFL assistant Joe Judge.
Judge, who spent the past 12 years in the NFL, is reportedly being hired as a senior analyst. OMSpirit’s Chuck Rounsaville is also hearing the newest staffer will work with special teams at Ole Miss.
Most recently, Judge was an assistant head coach with the New England Patriots in 2023. Prior to this stint, he was an offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach with the Patriots. And before this, he was the head coach in New York for two seasons. The Giants fired Judge earlier this year after just a 10-23 record.
Judge originally arrived in New England after a three-year stop at Alabama as an analyst and special teams assistant under then-head coach, Nick Saban. While on the Alabama staff, Judge was a member of two national championship teams in 2009 and 2011. Before arriving in Tuscaloosa, Judge spent one season at Birmingham-Southern where he served as special teams/linebackers coach in 2008.
Judge began his coaching career at Mississippi State as a graduate assistant under Sylvester Croom from 2005 through the 2007 season. He played for the Bulldogs from 2000 through 2004, earning three varsity letters.
Joe Judge’s ties to Nick Saban and Bill Belichick jive with Lane Kiffin’s “pro mindset” mentality.
Glasscock takes over for Austin Thomas. The Longhorns landed four five-stars during this span, including two high school Five-Star Plus+ prospects in Arch Manning and Colin Simmons. Texas has also been extremely vigilant and successful in the transfer portal. Quinn Ewers, a Five-Star Plus+ recruit himself, made his way to Austin after initially signing with Ohio State. AD Mitchell left Georgia for Texas in 2023 and this most recent cycle, Glasscock was instrumental in the signing of several instant impact transfers as well.
Speaking of the portal, Alex Brown brings a unique approach to the Portal King’s program.
“So, you can read the tea leaves and see this is probably a situation where this guy is not going to play, we need to just monitor it,” Brown said. “And I’ve taken the approach of, let’s just evaluate all of this, just study college football and know what plays at a high level, know what a good starter is for us versus a good backup versus an all-conference or NFL talent.
“Now we can really stack guys as they come in, in real time. And let’s focus on our roster of, what are our numbers looking like, what our needs,” Brown said. “So now, instead of like trying to pinpoint exactly and trying to predict who’s going to enter the transfer portal, let’s just figure out what are our three or four big needs and let’s evaluate all the really good players for that position across the country.”
