The New York Giants have hired a familiar face as the new Head Coach of their franchise. Pat Shurmur, most recently the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, spent two stints with the Philadelphia Eagles before the end of the Chip Kelly era cast him from the kingdom. So the question is, what does this mean for the Eagles?
Familiarity:
Shurmur has 28 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 and eventually Offensive Coordinator, Shurmur knows this team. The Birds are certainly in a different situation to how they were when he was coordinating top 5 offenses under Chip Kelly, but Shurmur has been around the team long enough to at least be a problematic matchup. He also spent a huge amount of time working with Donovan McNabb as the QB coach.
However…
Against the Eagles as the Vikings offensive coordinator, Shurmur’s offense averaged just 8.5 points per game in two meetings. Ouch. The Giants have some interesting pieces and what Shurmur does brilliantly is adapt his system to the quarterback in question. For instance, he included far more play-action looks with Case Keenum in the fray due to his added athleticism over Sam Bradford. Even so, the Eagles decimated the Vikings offense just one day ago so it would be natural for fans not be biting their nails just yet.
In the mold of Dougie P:
A calm, composed coach who can relate to his players, it’s very rare to hear anybody talk badly of the former Vikings tight ends coach turned offensive coordinator. The Giants need a swift culture change and while this hiring isn’t exactly Mr Gruden level, Ben McAdoo’s downfall was losing the locker room. Fractured within weeks, players began bickering with each other, missing practices, suffering suspensions and having to attend weekly meetings along with play on the field plagued by error. This had to be a big move. Shurmur won’t be a ‘boot camp’ type coach, but he may be able to unite a broken locker room. Does that sound familiar?
Will sleeve follow suit?
The Vikings have an incredibly interesting quarterback conundrum entering the offseason, with four on the roster and only their rookie signed through next season. Sam Bradford has re-united with Shurmur at every stop throughout his NFL career and now healthy (again), could we see one last Sammy Sleeves contract extension before he bows out? It’s possible. The comfort of the system is there and if that really is the case, an accurate quarterback slinging darts to Odell Beckham Jr and Evan Engram isn’t anybodies idea of fun. Only time will tell what the G-Men decide to do at the quarterback position, but it will have severe ramifications for their two clashes with the Eagles next season.
A change of heart:
Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that change is coming. It’s not going to happen over night, but the Giants are starting a clean slate. It will be down to Doug Pederson and company to ensure that all of the above does not factor into the matchup and that the Giants are met with the same level of play they were this season. If that is to be true, then the Birds shouldn’t have too much to worry about.
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
