Jason Garrett out as Giants' offensive coordinator

The job of the offense, Joe Judge said, is to score points.

That’s just not Jason Garrett’s job any longer.

Judge dismissed the team’s offensive coordinator and former head coach of the Cowboys on Tuesday, a day after the Giants were trounced by the Buccaneers in a 30-10 loss in Tampa. Judge insisted it was not a "snap decision" resulting from the nationally televised embarrassment, nor, he said, was he "looking for a head to roll."

But after yet another display of dysfunctional and curious offensive football that Judge noted immediately after the game on Monday would have frustrated him as a player – the most damning characteristics of which included only two targets for wide receiver Kenny Golladay, chaotic route-running from the receiving corps, and passes thrown to bottom-of-the-roster players in critical moments – the head coach decided that it was time for a change.

"I feel we have to be more productive as an offense," he said on Tuesday. "I don’t believe we are scoring enough points. It’s my job as the head coach to make sure I give our players an opportunity to go out there and make plays."

Not even Garrett himself could truly defend the team’s lackluster performance which has them 25th in the NFL in scoring average at 18.9 points per game.

"One of the things that motivated me to accept this position was the opportunity to help rebuild the Giants into a contending team," he said in a statement. "We knew there would be many challenges. My expectations for our offense were much greater than what our results have been, and I accept full responsibility for that."

The timing of the move – as opposed to two weeks ago when the Giants could have had their bye to get accustomed to the change rather than a short five-day span before their next game on Sunday against the Eagles – was about the only argument that could be made against the decision that became inevitable with each passing offensive dud. It also comes as the Giants sink to 3-7, so deep in the standings that it’s hard to envision them making the run for the postseason that appeared to be within their grasp when they won two of three games heading into the bye.

"I don’t think there is ever an ideal time to make a change like this in this season but you have to go ahead and you have to be prepared to roll with it," Judge said.

Judge said the offense will be run "collaboratively" by the remaining coaches this week with the play-caller to be determined closer to gameday.

"Everything is on the table," he said of the possibilities regarding who will be on the radio sending the calls into the huddle. Judge would not even rule out himself serving in that capacity, though it is not something he has never done in the NFL. The majority of his background as an assistant coach was spent on special teams, but Judge also served as a wide receivers coach for the Patriots before coming to the Giants.

The most likely candidate for the job is senior offensive assistant Freddie Kitchens. He handled those duties during his time in Cleveland and stepped in to be the Giants’ play-caller last year when Garrett missed one game because of COVID-19.

"Freddie has a very aggressive approach to the game," Judge said on Tuesday. "Freddie has done a good job in terms of using his players and creating matchups in certain situations so they can have success. He sees it through the lens of the player, in terms of creating plays for the player."

Judge said Monday night that the Giants have too many good players to be so anemic. Among them are Golladay, Saquon Barkley, Kadarius Toney and Evan Engram. The Giants also have Sterling Shepard close to returning from a quad injury.

Even with all of that firepower, the only touchdown the Giants cored on Monday was on a gadget play when Daniel Jones threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to left tackle Andrew Thomas.

There probably won’t be time to install an entirely new system, especially during this short week of preparation. And there certainly isn’t an opportunity for the Giants to bring in all new players to improve their personnel.. at least not until the offseason.

So what will a new offensive coordinator actually bring to the Giants?

"We’ll see as new wrinkles develop and new schemes and concepts may be included," Judge said. "We have to find something to give ourselves an opportunity to change things up a little bit."

It’s certainly a huge shakeup to the coaching staff. How much it actually changes the Giants’ production – and fortunes – will be revealed in the coming weeks.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.