The New York Giants fired head coach Joe Judge on Tuesday, the fourth sacking of an NFL head coach since the end of the regular season last weekend.

Judge was relieved of his duties after just two seasons in charge at the Giants, who finished bottom of the NFC East this season with a 4-13 record.

Team president John Mara said in a statement that the Giants ownership had axed Judge after deciding the franchise needed to “move in another direction”.

“I said before the season started that I wanted to feel good about the direction we were headed when we played our last game of the season,” Mara said.

“Unfortunately, I cannot make that statement, which is why we have made this decision.”

Judge, 40, was hired as Giants head coach in 2020 after stints as an assistant coach with the New England Patriots.

He led the Giants to a 6-10 record in his first season, but was unable to build on that during the 2021 campaign, with his team finishing the season with six straight losses, including a 22-7 home defeat to Washington on Sunday.

Judge’s dismissal comes after a round of sackings rocked the NFL on Monday, with the Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears all firing their head coaches.

The Dolphins pulled the biggest surprise in sacking Brian Flores, while the Vikings dispensed with veteran coach Mike Zimmer.

The Bears, meanwhile, fired Matt Nagy after the team failed to reach the playoffs once more.

The Giants had signalled their readiness to wield the axe on Monday with the dismissal of general manager Dave Gettleman.