At this rate, Pat Shurmur won’t last long as Giants head coach
After a particularly bad loss Thursday night, New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur is clearly feeling the pressure.
The singular brilliance of Saquon Barkley couldn’t save the New York Giants Thursday night, in a 34-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that didn’t feel that close. Odell Beckham brought headlines heading into Week 5 with comments about Eli Manning, and head coach Pat Shurmur has been left to manage the situation.
In light of how bad they were, before looking promising so far this year, Shurmur’s 9-23 run as Cleveland Browns head coach (2011-2012) stood out as pretty good. But he has been an anonymous offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach otherwise, and it was worth wondering how he’d handle the pressure of coaching in New York.
Shurmur offered a memorable line in the wake of Beckham’s ESPN interview, declaring the situation was “Finito” in his eyes. But Beckham drives stories and clicks with his every move, and his exit to get an IV before Thursday night’s first half was over drew scrutiny.
During the broadcast, FOX’s Troy Aikman questioned the effort level of the Giants’ defense. The ineptitude of the offense, most specifically quarterback Eli Manning, is surely having some effect on the energy level of the entire team.
After the game, Shurmur had to address both issues.
Pat Shurmur said he's not worried about his team's effort pic.twitter.com/e2DurH0iTh
— Jason Leach (@JasonKLeach) October 12, 2018
Pat Shurmur: “I’m not concerned about Eli.”
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano) October 12, 2018
The New York media will be relentless, and Shurmur didn’t like being asked back-to-back questions about the Giants’ effort level Thursday night. He also, somehow, said he is not worried about Manning. But he was captured by FOX’s cameras appearing to say “throw the ball” when Manning settled for another check down in a long-yardage situation.
Shurmur not feeling the checkdowns. Looks like “Throw the ball” to me. pic.twitter.com/2Vpckys7zq
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 12, 2018
As expected, Shurmur tried to dismiss cameras capturing one moment of frustration in a 21-point loss.
Pat Shurmur: I’m sure the cameras could have caught me upset at many times tonight. #PHIvsNYG
— Kim Jones (@KimJonesSports) October 12, 2018
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A lot of athletes and coaches simply aren’t built to handle the scrutiny of the New York market, particularly when they’re struggling and/or a team is losing. Shurmur has offered a glimpse at how he’s dealing with that pressure a couple times in the last handful of days, and it’s not a good look.