Report: Bill Belichick Called Giants With Recommendation of Joe Judge

Judge was the Patriots’ special teams coordinator from 2015-2019.

The Giants went with an out-of-the-box hire by choosing Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge as their next head coach, but one endorsement appeared to help make their decision.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick called the Giants and recommended Judge for the position, telling New York that Judge is “qualified to be a head coach,” according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport

“The Giants from what I understand got a phone call from Bill Belichick basically selling them that Judge was someone who is, in fact, qualified to be a head coach,” Rapoport said on Tuesday. “He had not one job, but two jobs on Bill Belichick’s staff. He was the special teams coordinator, one of the most respected positions on Belichick’s staff, then he was the receivers coach.”

Judge, 38, who has worked with the Patriots since 2012, earned a promotion to special teams coordinator in 2015. He previously spent three seasons as a special teams assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama. Belichick reportedly met with Judge “on a regular basis” to tutor him in advance of a potential coaching opportunity, per Rapoport. 

The Giants fired Pat Shurmur on Dec. 30 after two seasons with the franchise. New York is 12–36 since 2017, the worst mark in the NFL. 

Carmelo Anthony Scores 28, Drains Game-Winner to Beat Raptors

Carmelo Anthony poured in a season-high 28 points, including a late jumper to give Portland a 101-99 victory over Toronto.

Carmelo Anthony turned in his best performance of the season in the Blazers’ 101-99 win over the Raptors on Tuesday. The 10-time All-Star finished with 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, and he sunk the game-winning jumper with 4.1 seconds to play. 

Anthony led all scorers in Toronto. He tallied 10 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, finishing the night with a 17-foot pull-up jumper. Anthony’ game-winner came one possession after point guard Damian Lillard tied the contest with a 35-foot three. 

Anthony is now averaging 16.0 points per game in 2019-20. He’s shooting 39% from three, marking his best shooting season since 2013-14. Anthony has scored 20-plus points eight times with Portland. 

The Blazers are 11–13 with Anthony since signing him to a one-year contract on Nov. 14. They have struggled of late, losing six of their last seven before Tuesday’s victory. 

Portland trails the Spurs by 0.5 games for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. The Blazers reached the Western Conference Finals last season for the first time since 2000 before getting swept by Steph Curry and the Warriors