If he can help turn Case Keenum into a legitimate MVP candidate, the Giants might wonder what Pat Shurmur could do if he was paired with Eli Manning, Davis Webb, or even Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold.
The Giants coaching-search road show touched down Saturday in Bloomington, Minn., for an interview with Shurmur, the Vikings’ offensive coordinator, who met with Giants co-owner John Mara, general manager Dave Gettleman and assistant general manager Kevin Abrams. Co-owner Steve Tisch will meet with candidates later in the process.
Shurmur, 52, has the previous head coaching experience the Giants covet, as he went 9-23 in two seasons (2011 and 2012) with the Browns. Shurmur also served as interim Eagles head coach for the 2015 regular-season finale after Chip Kelly was fired. Shurmur beat the Giants 35-30 to claim second place in the NFC East.
“I think he’s aware of maybe some of the things that went wrong in Cleveland and what can go right and what has gone right here maybe,’’ Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said recently.
This was the fourth interview conducted by the Giants in their search for a replacement for Ben McAdoo, who was fired Dec. 4, 12 games into the season. Steve Spagnuolo, the Giants defensive coordinator and interim head coach for the last four games after McAdoo was fired, was the first to interview with Mara, Gettleman and Abrams. The two Patriots coordinators, Josh McDaniels (offense) and Matt Patricia (defense) met with the Giants on Friday in Foxborough, Mass.
There is interest in meeting with Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, but no date has been set. Early in the week, the plan is to speak with Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who has ties to Gettleman from their time together with the Panthers. There also will be a makeup date for Eric Studesville, the Broncos associate head coach and running backs coach, whose interview scheduled for this past Thursday was postponed due to the snowstorm.
Shurmur comes from a football family — his uncle, Fritz, was an NFL coach for 24 years — and his profile rose this season for his work with the Vikings, who lost quarterback Sam Bradford and rookie running back Dalvin Cook to injuries. Shurmur helped Keenum have a career year, and the Vikings finished 11th in the league in yards per game despite a patchwork group of players on offense.
“He’s been very adaptable trying to fit the scheme to the players,” Zimmer said. “He did a nice job in the offseason of coming with a plan of using the guys we had and trying to use them to their strengths. And then, obviously, after Bradford went down and really then when Cook went down, being able to adapt to those. He’s done a good job in calling plays. But more importantly probably has been using the players to their strengths.”
There is plenty of buzz around Shurmur, who had previously interviewed with the Lions and Cardinals, and the Bears are also reportedly interested.