Pat Shurmur is poised to become the 18th head coach of the Giants, according to the NFL Network.
The Vikings' offensive coordinator still has to finish the playoff run with his current team, but according to the network's source the Giants will offer him the job when he becomes available and Shurmur is expected to accept it. A source confirmed those expectations to Newsday on Monday, but cautioned that minds can change and nothing is official.
Because the Vikings remain in the postseason thanks to Sunday's thrilling comeback win over the Saints, the Giants cannot officially speak with Shurmur again until next week when the team either is eliminated by the Eagles in the NFC title game or during the bye week prior to Super Bowl LII. If the Vikings do advance to the Super Bowl, the Giants cannot name him the head coach until Feb. 5 at the earliest.
Shurmur has a lot of what the Giants seem to be looking for in a head coach. The 52-year-old has developed a reputation as a "quarterback whisperer" throughout his 19-year NFL coaching career, as recently evidenced by turning Case Keenum into a championship game quarterback. In his first four seasons, Keenum played for three teams, had a career passer rating of 78.4 and a touchdown-interception ratio of 24-20. In his first season with Shurmur, Keenum's regular-season rating was 98.3 _ seventh in the NFL _ and he threw 22 touchdowns and only seven interceptions to lead the Vikings to the No. 2 seed in the NFC. His record as a starter entering the season was 9-5. In 2017, it was 11-3.
Shurmur also spent three seasons with the Eagles as offensive coordinator. He guided Nick Foles (the opposing quarterback in Sunday's NFC Championship Game) to a breakout season in 2013, throwing 27 touchdowns and two interceptions while posting the third-best rating (119.2) and third-lowest interception percentage (0.63) in NFL history.
In 2010 as offensive coordinator for the Rams, he helped first overall draft pick Sam Bradford set NFL rookie records for completions (354) and attempts (590), while his 3,512 passing yards were the second-most by a rookie in league history at the time. Bradford was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
All of that would be appealing whether the Giants want to move forward with Eli Manning as their quarterback for the immediate future or invest their No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft in a potential franchise quarterback.
The Giants hope to capture some of that mojo after Ben McAdoo was unable to deliver on the promise of offensive spark. In McAdoo's two seasons as coach, the Giants never scored 30 or more points in a game. They finished 2017 ranked 21st in total yards (314.2) and 31st in points per game (15.4).
By contrast, the Vikings finished 10th in the NFL in scoring (23.9 points a game), 11th in total yardage (356.9 a game) and seventh in rushing yardage (122.3-yard average). Minnesota was also third in the league in third-down conversion percentage (43.5, with 94 successes on 216 attempts).
Shurmur brings experience, having served as coach of the Browns in 2011-12 (with a 9-23 record). He has the CEO persona that general manager Dave Gettleman said he prefers and would be a stabilizing presence for a team rocked by on- and off-the-field drama the past two seasons.
Shurmur's NFL coaching career began in Philadelphia, where he spent 10 seasons (1999-2008) with the Eagles. He was the team's quarterbacks coach from 2002 to 2008 during which Donovan McNabb went to three Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl. Prior to the Eagles and the NFL, Shurmur spent the 1998 season as the offensive line coach at Stanford and was the tight ends, special teams and offensive line coach at Michigan State from 1990-97.
A native of Dearborn Heights, Mich., Shurmur played at Michigan State and was All-Big Ten as a senior co-captain and starting center in 1987.
The Giants had three finalists for the job: Shurmur, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. McDaniels reportedly could be the next coach of the Colts, while Patricia reportedly is headed to be the next coach of the Lions.
