Joe Judge and the other coaches in first year with teams will be challenged

Giants head coach Joe Judge before being introduced at MetLife Stadium on Jan. 9 at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Corey Sipkin
Joe Judge is still waiting to meet most of his players, even though he has been the Giants’ coach for more than three months. It’s anyone’s guess when he'll make his first team speech.
Kevin Stefanski was all set to look for a new home in Cleveland, but after returning home to be with his family in Minnesota, the Browns’ first-year head coach has been there ever since.
Matt Rhule took over as the Panthers’ head coach in early January, but he, too, hasn’t had the benefit of meeting with his new team.
For the NFL’s three first-time coaches, this is a challenge the likes of which they never could have imagined. Ron Rivera and Mike McCarthy, who at least have head-coaching experience, also have yet to meet with their new teams.
With the coronavirus pandemic shutting down most major businesses in the country, the uncertainty about when — or even if — the NFL will resume normal operations could have particularly significant impacts on how their teams perform next season.
“I’m a better gym coach [than NFL head coach] right now,” Stefanski joked on a conference call with reporters last week as he detailed his new reality of staying at home and dividing home-schooling responsibilities. “Just like everybody else, taking it one day at a time and staying safe and staying together and listening to the advice of public and medical officials.”

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski answers a question during a news conference at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland on Jan. 14. Credit: AP/Phil Long
All the coaches are mindful that safety is the first priority at this unprecedented time. And they’re certainly not complaining in the least, not when we’re in the midst of one of the biggest global health threats in modern times. But with the NFL proceeding as if there will be a full regular season and playoffs, and with the draft less than two weeks away, the Coaching Class of 2020 faces challenges that are unparalleled.
And perhaps insurmountable, at least in the short term.
The learning curve for any new coach is steep, especially for a first-time coach making the quantum leap from assistant coach or, in Rhule’s case, college head coach. But the hurdles these five men face are unlike any we’ve ever seen.
Judge, who is expected to speak with the media this week for the first time since the pandemic shuttered NFL facilities last month, remains home with his family in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, where they resided during Judge’s time as the Patriots’ special teams coordinator. And while he is in contact with his assistants and general manager Dave Gettleman as the team ramps up its draft preparations, it simply isn’t the same as putting in the hours at the training facility. Not having access to the players only complicates matters.
First-year coaches get a one-week head start on the rest of the league to begin their voluntary offseason programs, but that has become a moot point this year. Last Monday, all the 38-year-old Judge could do was send an electronic playbook. That was in addition to some pre-recorded teaching materials that had previously been distributed.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has ordered that all personnel remain home for what will be a “virtual” draft. There is no indication about when the teams might begin their offseason programs, and it’s possible the regular season will be delayed until there are assurances about the safety of the players, coaches and all members of every organization. And it remains to be seen whether fans will be able to attend games.
“All 32 clubs are going to be playing by the same rules whenever we see our players, whether it’s via a tablet or seeing them in person,” Stefanski said. “We’ll have our program ready to go and our installs ready to go. We’re in the same boat as everybody else.”
For now, Stefanski and the other coaches are spending a lot of time with their staffs the way the rest of us communicate.
“It’s those virtual meetings,” he said. “I sit in on the offensive staff meeting for a little while. Coach [Alex] Van Pelt is running that. We’re sharing a screen and looking at that and looking at drawings and looking at video and making corrections. Joe [Woods] is doing the same with the defensive staff . . . Whatever the rules are, we’ll play by them, but it cannot slow down our preparation.”
Of all the first-year coaches, new Redskins coach Rivera might be the most uniquely suited to adjust to the new reality. After all, when he was first hired as the Panthers’ head coach in 2011, there was a lockout of the players that lasted until August.
“The biggest thing I learned was ‘be ready,’ ” Rivera said on a conference call last week. “We were ready in every phase. We kept saying, ‘If we come back here, this is how much time we’ll have left to go.’ I kept adjusting the schedule weekly as we’d get into it.”
The Panthers went 6-10 in Rivera’s first season, but the team eventually went to the Super Bowl after the 2015 season.
“This is one of those things that’s really going to test you, and test to find out how good your basics are,” Rivera said.
McCarthy, who hasn’t addressed the media since the NFL suspended operations, has plenty of challenges ahead. He was out of football last year, and even when the Cowboys return to work, he might not be able to develop a chemistry right away with quarterback Dak Prescott, who remains unsigned despite having been designated as the team’s franchise player.
Rhule, who was in the mix for the Giants’ job before accepting a seven-year, $62 million contract with Carolina, hopes the familiarity of newly signed quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and former Saints offensive assistant Joe Brady will help smooth the transition once the team resumes operations. Brady, who was LSU’s passing game coordinator last year, was with the Saints in 2017-18 and coached Bridgewater in 2018.

Panthers head coach Matt Rhule speaks during a press conference at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 25. Credit: AP/Michael Conroy
“As you’re sitting there in a time with no offseason, [Bridgewater] walks in Day 1, he knows the verbiage, he knows the concepts,” Rhule told the team’s website this past week. “You watch him on tape, he’s executing the plays that we’re going to run.”
Rhule can only hope things go smoothly once the league does resume operations. But as his fellow members of the Coaching Class of 2020 may soon find out, things probably won’t go as planned.
NEW ON THE JOB
Joe Judge, Giants
Age: 38
College: Mississippi State
Previous head coaching experience: None
Coaching area of expertise: Special teams.
Most recent job: Patriots special teams coordinator.
Biggest challenges ahead: Develop a chemistry with second-year quarterback Daniel Jones. Improve a defense that collapsed through most of last season.
Mike McCarthy, Cowboys
Age: 56
College: Baker University (NAIA)
Previous head coaching experience: Green Bay Packers, 2006-2018
Coaching area of expertise: Offense
Most recent job: Packers head coach
Biggest challenges ahead: Bring out the most in a team that is considered one of the most talented in the league. Improve Dak Prescott’s consistency.
Matt Rhule, Panthers
Age: 45
College: Penn State
Previous head coaching experience: Temple, 2013-2016; Baylor, 2017-2019
Coaching area of expertise: Defense
Most recent job: Baylor head coach
Biggest challenges ahead: Transition to newly signed free-agent quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Overcome early retirement of All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly.
Ron Rivera, Redskins
Age: 58
College: Cal-Berkeley
Previous head coaching experience: Carolina Panthers, 2011-2019
Coaching area of expertise: Defense
Most recent job: Panthers head coach
Biggest challenges ahead: Develop second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Instill discipline on a team that has been in short supply in recent years.
Kevin Stefanski, Browns
Age: 37
College: Pennsylvania
Previous head coaching experience: None
Coaching area of expertise: Offense
Most recent job: Vikings offensive coordinator
Biggest challenges ahead: Improve third-year QB Baker Mayfield’s performance. Create a winning culture in an organization that has endured decades of failure.