Giants Officially Hire Pat Shurmur

It’s been an open secret for about a week, but now that the Vikings are eliminated from the postseason, the Giants have officially named Pat Shurmur to be their next head coach. The team will be signing him to a five-year contract, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).This will be Shumur’s second stint as a head coach after he led the Browns from 2011-12.

Pat Shurmur (vertical)

“We are pleased to welcome Pat to our organization and look forward to the leadership he will provide for our team,” said owner John Mara and vice president Steve Tisch. “He has an outstanding track record in developing young players, and it is clear his players respond to his guidance and direction. We interviewed six talented and qualified candidates, and we feel like Pat, with his vision and experience, is the right person to lead our team.”

Shumur is entering the Giants organization after a very successful 2017 season as the Vikings offensive coordinator. He dealt with injuries to his top quarterback and running back, but maintained an offense that ranked 11th in total yards. Shurmur got the job after he took over an an interim basis in 2016 after originally being hired as the team’s tight ends coach. Prior to his few seasons in Minnesota, Shurmur worked as the Eagles offensive coordinator from 2013-15 after he was fired from his job with the Browns. After fighting back to being considered for another had coach position, Shurmur expressed that he is excited to start building a winner in New York.

“I am looking forward to getting to work with Dave Gettleman and Kevin Abrams and starting the process to once again build a championship team,” said Shurmur. “I have been fortunate to work with many great coaches and players, and I am thankful for those relationships. I would like to thank my family and friends for their tremendous support.”

It was mentioned early in the search that new general manager Dave Gettleman preferred for his hire to have previous head coaching experience, and it seems that he got exactly what he was looking for in the 52-year-old coach.

“I can’t wait to start working with Pat,” said Gettleman. “I know he will provide the type of leadership we need to take our team back to where it belongs. I have followed Pat’s career for many years, and he has had great success wherever he has been. What struck me during our conversation is that being the head coach of the New York Giants is not too big for him. He is made for this moment and this opportunity.”

Now that Shurmur is officially in place, he’ll have a number of challenges entering the offseason. This includes gaining control of a fractured locker room, addressing the quarterback situation and starting to build a team that can get back to playing like a playoff caliber squad.

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