INDIANAPOLIS – Giants coach Joe Judge continued to fortify his coaching staff today with the hiring of Amos Jones as assistant coach – special projects and situations.

Jones, 60, is entering his 40th consecutive year as a high school, collegiate or NFL coach. He has spent the last 13 seasons in the NFL, most recently as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' assistant special teams coach in 2019.

Judge and Jones have previously worked together at the former's alma mater, Mississippi State, from 2004-06. Judge was a senior backup quarterback and special teamer in 2004 before beginning his coaching career and a three-year stint as graduate assistant with the Bulldogs the following season. During those three years, Jones was a linebackers and special teams coach.

The two coaches even share December 31 as their birthday, though Judge is 22 years younger.

"Amos is someone I've known for quite some time," Judge said. "I have a high trust factor with him. He's definitely somebody who has worked consistently throughout his career with a number of organizations dealing with situations. He's got an eye for all sides of the ball. He'll help with a lot of special projects that will come up throughout the season with evaluation of ourselves and our opponents.

"I think everybody on our staff will bring value from their own experiences and it will tie together and complement each other. Amos brings a wealth of experience to our team."

Jones first coached in the NFL in 2007, the first of his five seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers' assistant special teams coach. He was promoted to special teams coordinator in 2012. That season, kicker Shaun Suisham made 28 of 31 field goal attempts and Chris Rainey had 1,035 kickoff return yards, the third-most in a season in team history. In 2009, the Steelers were the NFL's top kickoff return team with a franchise-record 1,581 return yards. Stefan Logan had a team-record 1,466 kickoff return yards. Pittsburgh also had the NFL's top kickoff coverage unit during the 2008 season, allowing an average return of 19.1 yards.

The following year, Jones moved to the Arizona Cardinals as their special teams coordinator, a position he held for five years (2013-17).

During his time with the Cardinals, Jones helped Justin Bethel earn three consecutive Pro Bowl selections (2013-15) as a special teams player after he led the team in special teams tackles each season. Bethel also blocked three field goals and was named Special Teams Player of the Week and Special Teams Player of the Month (December) in 2014. Kicker Chandler Catanzaro tied the NFL record for the most consecutive field goals to begin a career (17) and established a new franchise rookie record with 114 points in 2014.

Jones was the Cleveland Browns' special teams coordinator in 2018, when Britton Colquitt set a franchise record by placing 32 punts inside the 20-yard line, which tied for sixth in the NFL in that category. The Browns were second in the NFL with 290 punt return yards.

Before coaching at Mississippi State, Jones spent time at James Madison (2003), Cincinnati (1999-02), British Columbia of the Canadian Football League (1997), Tulane (1995-96), Pittsburgh (1992), Alabama (1990-91, 1981-82) and Temple (1983-88). He was a high school coach in 1989, 1993-94 and 1998.

Jones, a native of Aliceville, Ala., was a safety and running back at the University of Alabama (1978-80), where he played under legendary coach Bear Bryant. The Crimson Tide won consecutive national championships in 1978-79.

Jones graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1982, and later earned a master's degree from the university.