It seems as if the New York Giants have found their next head coach as it was widely reported on Monday that Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will become their next head coach.
The New York Giants can’t officially sign offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings Pat Shurmur as their next head coach until the Vikings playoff run is over.Nonetheless, they had to act fast in finding their next head coach as their top two candidates, Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are both reportedly taking the head coaching jobs with the Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans, respecitively
So Josh McDaniels goes from being a favorite in Indianapolis….to being a favorite in Tennessee. McDaniels will be getting an HC job.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 15, 2018
Shurmur was the orchestra of the Viking miraculous 61-yard walk off touchdown against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
The 52-year-old brings 18 years of coaching experience mostly as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, but he does have head coaching experience as well. He coached the Cleveland Browns from 2011-to-2012 and served as the Eagles interim coach for the 2015 season finale when they defeated the Giants 35-30.
He’s known as a quarterback guru since Donovan McNabb, Sam Bradford, and Case Keenum have all had their best seasons under the tutelage under Shurmur. And it’s the work he’s done with those quarterbacks that sheds a cloud over the future of Eli Manning.
It’s been rumored that Shurmur is not the biggest Manning fan and may want to bring one of the quarterbacks currently on the Vikings roster with him to the Big Apple.
Giants expected to hire Pat Shurmur as head coach: https://t.co/38RXG1Ez60 (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/9OdCJXr3iT
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2018
In a unique circumstance, all three quarterbacks on the Vikings roster, Keenum, Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater are all going to be free agents after the season.
While all three pale in comparison to what Manning has accomplished in the league as he will one day end up in the Hall of Fame, they’re all significantly younger as Keenum will turn 30 next month, Bradford is 30, and Bridgewater is only 25.
Manning’s cap number for next season is $22.2 million but if they cut him they’ll free up $9.8 million dollars. This is money the Giants could use to rebuild their offensive line which has been the weak link for several years.
They could also trade Manning to teams who are in need of quarterbacks such as the Denver Broncos or Arizona Cardinals if Manning is willing to waive his no-trade clause.
Parting ways with Manning and acquiring one of the Vikings quarterbacks would give the Giants more flexibility with the second pick in the draft as taking a quarterback would no longer be a necessity. They could then take Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, or trade down and take the best offensive lineman available and acquire more mid and late round picks.
Expect the Giants to formally introduce Shurmur as their coach a few days after the Viking season ends. Soon thereafter he’ll have a sit down with John Mara and Dave Gettleman on which direction they need to go at quarterback. Stay tuned Giants fans.
