Pat Shurmur acted as the interim Head Coach of the Eagles following the firing of Chip Kelly and whilst it was only one game in charge, the Eagles left the Meadowlands with a 35-30 win over the New York Giants. With the search for Chip Kelly’s replacement already underway, here’s five reasons why Pat Shurmur should be a top candidate.
5) Experience
It sounds simple but it’s something that can easily be overlooked. Shurmur has 26 years of coaching experience and has been coaching in the NFL since 1999. Not only that but having worked as a TE/OL coach with the Eagles as well as a Quarterback coach later on before most recently becoming Offensive Coordinator, Shurmur knows this team..he’s seen it through the best of times and he’s seen it through some of the worst. If anyone knows what it takes to build a successful team in Philadelphia, it’s a Coach who has seen the Eagles from the inside during their era of Defensive Dominance as well as their Offensive success through the years.
4) Moving out of Chip’s shadow
This season, Shurmur hasn’t really had a lot of attention from the media..mainly because the man behind everything was Chip Kelly from the plays to the big time decisions. The good news is that he’s seen this scheme from the inside and how Chip manufactured it..who’s to say he didn’t see things he liked as well as things he didn’t?
Today was the first chance and potentially the only chance to audition for this role so to speak, so Shurmur stepped out of Chip’s shadow, kept the basics..slowed things down slightly and used the running backs effectively. Within minutes Murray had scored a rushing touchdown by running up the gut..something that seemed like an alien idea when Chip was involved!
Shurmur has seen this Offense evolve since it was first introduced in Philadelphia and in that time he should have established his own perceptions as to what works and what doesn’t. What we saw today was almost a fans mindset! Zach Ertz was targeted more than anyone, the running backs talents were utilised as opposed to utilising the scheme which in return gave them 102 combined yards and it didn’t seem messy anymore. The screen passes seemed to fit the game plan, there weren’t any standout questionable play calls and the routes run seemed more explosive…perhaps this fresh perspective is what could be needed..a new chapter as opposed to a new book.
3) Bradford chemistry
Shurmur was Bradford’s coordinator during his rookie season at the Rams back in 2010..the chemistry they built up was so crucial this year as Bradford had to endure yet another system change. Bradford has improved game in and game out this season and on top of staying healthy (mostly) has showcased the form he displayed during his rookie year..a lot of that could be down to Shurmur knowing how to get the best out of the former number one pick.
Don’t believe in Shurmur? He helped turn Donovan McNabb into one of the most prolific Quarterbacks in Eagles history and that’s something people are quick to forget. He moulded McNabb, took the Eagles to their first Super Bowl in 25 years and discovered what it took to build a franchise Quarterback..the fundamentals of which can be found in Sam Bradford. If anyone can help Bradford discover his potential and help him become the Quarterback of the future for the Eagles, it’s the man who helped him win Offensive Rookie Of The Year.
2) The grand “scheme” of things
As aforementioned, today Pat Shurmur made the Eagles Offense look good. Fact. Now yes the Giants Defense are hardly the most intimidating challenge on the planet and we’re not jumping to conclusions saying it’s Shurmur or bust..but it looked as though the birds took a deep breath, slowed things down and played with a mutual passion…three things that haven’t appeared at the same time for most of the season.
Calling this roster one dimensional would be a lie, but saying that it was built for a very specific type of Offense with players training for that kind of Offense yearlong is not. Learning an entirely new system can be tricky and for someone like Bradford who has learned more systems than the Eagles have Quarterbacks right now, it’s only going to prevent progress.
Why can’t this system work under a different banner? Why can’t Shurmur slow the tempo slightly, change the practices, add his own plays (like he did today) and repaint the house that Chip Built. Not many other coaches could come into a locker room that diverse start moving things around and get a result…Shurmur did and you have to think of the potential if he’s given a full year to tweak this Offense to his liking.
1) Respect
The Eagles came into today surrounded by controversy. Some players stood behind Chip whilst others were quick to make their feelings clear. Malcolm Jenkins told a FOX reporter that the environment the team were in didn’t allow for players to build relationships off the field.
Shurmur knows this group of guys and by getting a result out of an arguably divided locker room who are facing so much in the way of media attention and spotlight focus right now is impressive. It would have been easy for the players to crumble and take the loss..but they looked angry, fired up and more importantly excited. It was nice to see Matthews smiling and pointing to his teammates after a touchdown, it was great to see Marcus Smith get hugs after his first sack..it looked as though a weight had been lifted and if that falls down to familiarity and leadership..Shurmur should absolutely be considered for the position.
