If ESPN asks, New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur is prepared with an emphatic no — he will not allow himself to be mic’d up on Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys.
“In the past my answer has been they will have mic’d certain players,” Shurmur said, via the New York Post. “But in this case I’m going to say no. . . I think [the Sam Darnold situation] brought light to a problem that could occur.”
Following Sam Darnold’s now-infamous “seeing ghosts” comments that aired on “Monday Night Football” in Week 7, the Giants coach was quick to come to the defense of Gang Green’s quarterback and express his displeasure with the entire “mic’d up” premise.
“Well, you might expect my answer when it comes to mics. I’m not fond of them. I think there are things that get said and corrected during the game that should be internal in my opinion,” Shurmur told reporters at the time. “Outside, it’s kind of interesting and nice for broadcasts to see that stuff.
“It’s hard to play quarterback in this league. He’s a tough, young man. But if you ask me my opinion about mics, I’m not fond of it. Plus, when you have a mic, then some of what you’re communicating at the line of scrimmage now becomes public record. That’s just my opinion of that. What happened in the game, I don’t know.”
Typically, ESPN and other networks such as Showtime go through layers of approval before airing comments, and while ESPN did receive internal approval to air Darnold’s comments, the team had not signed off.
That’s the nature of a live broadcast, of course. But in this case, it caused a firestorm and as a result, Shurmur has found footing in his battle against he and his players being mic’d up.
“I’d prefer they don’t (wear it). I’m already on record: I’m not a mic fan. Not Mike the name, either,” Shurmur added, taking an apparent shot at Mike Francesa in the process.
It will be interesting to see how many other coaches and players follow Shurmur’s lead.
