New York officially has its new leader of Big Blue.
The Giants have hired Pat Shurmur as head coach, the team announced on Monday.
"We are pleased to welcome Pat to our organization and look forward to the leadership he will provide for our team," team president John Mara and chairman Steve Tisch said in a release from the team. "He has an outstanding track record in developing young players, and it is clear his players respond to his guidance and direction. We interviewed six talented and qualified candidates, and we feel like Pat, with his vision and experience, is the right person to lead our team."
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported last week New York had closed in on Shurmur as the team's next coach, but with the Minnesota Vikings still alive in the NFC Championship Game, the Giants had to wait until they were eliminated to make his hiring official. All of that came together with the events of Sunday and Monday.
Shurmur, 52, shot back up the ranks of head coaching candidates thanks to his work with career backup Case Keenum in 2017 as part of a Vikings team that won the NFC North and was one win from a Super Bowl berth. The coordinator conducted the league's 10th-ranked scoring offense (23.9 points per game), and No. 11 unit in total yards per game (356.9) and passing yards per game (234.6), sparking the emergence of pass-catchers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen along the way.
Diggs and Thielen each finished in the top 25 in receiving yards as Minnesota's offense evolved from ugly in 2016 to more than adequate in 2017. With much of it riding on the execution of Keenum and a retooled offensive line, the transformation was considered even more impressive of an achievement.
The Giants gig is Shurmur's second head coaching job. He posted a 9-23 record with the Cleveland Browns from 2011-2012 before he was fired at the conclusion of his second campaign.
