Black Monday in the NFL claimed Pat Shurmur, as he was fired by the New York Giants after just two seasons.
The team will now conduct their third head coaching search in just five seasons and it looks like they already have a candidate at the top of their wish list.
Matt Rhule, Baylor’s current head coach, is considered to be the early favorite to replace Shurmur as the Giants head coach, reports Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.
The No. 1 name on the Giants’ list to be their next head coach is the same man who was very nearly hired to be the Jets coach last year. Matt Rhule, the 44-year-old head coach at Baylor, is the early favorite to replace the now fired Pat Shurmur, according to multiple team and league sources. The Giants owners “like him a lot,” said one league source, and have been enamored of him since his one year as a Giants assistant back in 2012. He left a big impression then, one team source said, and they were certain the native New Yorker would be a successful head coach when he left after that one season as the assistant offensive line coach under Tom Coughlin to take over the football program at Temple.
One year ago, Rhule was considered to be the favorite for the New York Jets’ head coaching job, but ended up losing out to Adam Gase.
The 44-year-old college coach has previous ties to the Giants, having served as their assistant offensive line coach in 2012 under Tom Coughlin.
After the one season with the Giants, Rhule went to become the head coach for Temple, where he went 28-23 in four seasons. Rhule then became the head coach for Baylor in 2017, where he is 19-19, but just came off an 11-2 season in 2019.
