Joe Judge has yet to coach his first game for the New York Giants, but he is already well in the throes of an unprecedented offseason. But for Judge, the challenges of navigating a limited offseason might pale in comparison to shopping for a new home in New Jersey.
The former New England Patriots assistant said he was not prepared for the tax rates in New Jersey (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post).
“The biggest shock to me when we were shopping were the taxes,’’ Judge said. “I was looking at prices and just thinking ‘OK, I can just accept it’s more expensive’ and then a lot of the taxes, I was like ‘Wow.’ And the variance of towns. We looked in Ridgewood at one point and the taxes were like, it didn’t matter where you bought, were like $60,000. I thought ‘Jeez, that better be the best snow removal in the history of the world.’ ’’
Judge spent the past five years as the Pats' special teams coordinator. Now, he will be entrusted with leading the Giants into the future.
The 2019 campaign was a struggle for New York. Rookie quarterback Daniel Jones showed promise but was somewhat turnover-prone. The offensive line did not help matters, as Jones was sacked 38 times.
Meanwhile, the Giants' secondary was routinely ripped to shreds. New York's defense ranked 31st in terms of passing DVOA last season, per Football Outsiders.
Judge and the Giants will help offseason additions, and growth from Jones will result in more wins. Unfortunately for Judge, the tax rate only figures to go up, regardless of how well the Giants perform.