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For the second time in three years, the Giants are in the market for a head coach after firing Pat Shurmur on Monday.
Shurmur lasted just two seasons in New York, going 9-23 — coincidentally the same record he had in his previous head coaching gig with the Cleveland Browns from 2011-12.
General manager Dave Gettleman will be retained, the team announced.
The Giants concluded a 4-12 season Sunday by losing 34-17 to the Philadelphia Eagles at home. The year included a franchise-record-tying nine-game losing streak.
"This morning, we made the very difficult decision that it would be in the best interest of the franchise that we relieve Pat of his duties," Giants co-owner and team president John Mara said. "The last three seasons have been extremely disappointing for the organization and our fans. Pat has been a successful and highly-respected NFL coach for 21 years and he is not solely responsible for our record. But we came to the conclusion it is best to have a fresh start with the coaching staff. We very much appreciate how much Pat has done for this franchise. He is a man of character and integrity and the team has conducted itself with pride and professionalism.
“As owners, we take full responsibility for our recent poor record," Mara continued. "It is our goal to consistently deliver high-quality football and we will do everything in our power to see that there is a rapid and substantial turnaround.”
USA TODAY Images He earned the Giants job in large part due to his success as the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, but in New York his play-calling left many observers scratching their heads. For example, trailing the Patriots 28-14 in Week 6, he punted with seven minutes left in the game, erasing pretty much any hope of a comeback. A week later, trailing by three points with 4:23 to play and the ball at the Giants’ own 25-yard line, Shurmur went for it on a 4th-and-15 — a low-percentage play in wet conditions that essentially sealed their losing fate. And in Week 8 at Detroit, Shurmur unsuccessfully went for a two-point conversion with 20 minutes left against the Lions — far too early for such a big gamble in many fans’ eyes.
Shurmur tried his best to put a positive spin on the team’s performance during a rebuilding season that saw Daniel Jones take the starting quarterback reins from Eli Manning. In November, the coach told reporters, he was seeing improvement “behind the scenes,” but that comment was largely mocked by fans and media. On Sunday night, Shurmur said he believes the Giants are better off now than when he took over.“We’re building a team," he said. "A lot of dead money this year, a lot of cap space next year and some prime picks where we can use the draft wisely and make decisions on making this team better with impact players.
"If I’m back, I’m looking forward to coaching this young talent. If I’m not, whoever coaches this team has got a great group of young players."
Despite some personnel missteps by Gettleman, Mara and Steve Tisch, Giants co-owner and chairman, said they fully support the GM.
“Dave Gettleman is our general manager in 2020 and hopefully for many years after that,” Mara said. “We believe he is the right person to lead us going forward. Dave has a long record of success. We think he's capable of putting a great team together and he's going to get that opportunity. To the extent we need to make changes in personnel or the way we do things, we're going to discuss that.”
Added Tisch: "Although our record didn’t reflect it this season, we believe Dave has assembled a strong nucleus of young players that will help us compete for championships in the future."
At a news conference Monday, Mara conceded that Gettleman has had some "misses" with personnel decisions, and, "He does know that the batting average has got to increase going forward."
There are a number of directions the Giants could go in their search for Shurmur’s replacement. They could hire an experienced head coach with a track record of success, such as Mike McCarthy, formerly of the Packers. They could look to hire a coordinator from another team again — New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ name often comes up for openings, and he inteviewed for the job two years ago. Or they could pluck an up-and-comer from the college ranks, such as Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley or Baylor’s Matt Rhule, a former Giants assistant under Tom Coughlin.
“I’m looking for leadership," Mara said. "Someone who can take control of this roster and build a culture that will lead to winning.”
Big Blue has reached the playoffs just once since its last Super Bowl championship following the 2011 season and has lost double-digit games in five of the past six years.
“We understand how frustrated our fans are," Tisch said. "They expect more from us and we expect more from ourselves. Our focus now is on developing and improving our football team so that our fans can enjoy the winning team they expect and deserve.”