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Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper spoke to the media earlier this week about the state of the team and refused to comment on the futures of general manager Marty Hurney, head coach Ron Rivera or quarterback Cam Newton beyond this season.
Tepper requested to not be quoted directly, but stated that mediocrity will not be tolerated. The Panthers went 7-9 last season and are off to a 5-5 start in 2019. If things head south in the final six games for the Panthers, there could ultimately be a shakeup, which could work in the New York Giants’ favor.
With Pat Shurmur’s Giants tenure off to a 7-19 start (17-42 as an NFL head coach overall), it is fair to wonder whether the Giants will make a coaching change at the end of this season. Despite receiving a vote of confidence from Giants brass, Shurmur has not shown any indication of improving as the head coach of a team that is off to a worse start in year two at 2-8, as opposed to 3-7 in 2018.
Shurmur has also refused to give up play calling, which has seen his offense take a step back ranking 24th in total yards (322) and scoring 20.3 points per game as opposed to averaging 358.8 yards and 27.7 in the final eight contests in 2018. The offense has only converted 40% on third-down, while sporting a lowly 51% (14-of-27) conversion rate in the red zone.
One of the few bright spots in Shurmur’s second season as head coach comes from the development of rookie Daniel Jones, who has put up promising numbers (15 TDs, 8 INTs, 1,984 yards, 63% completion rate, 208 rushing yards, 2 TDs). The only concerning factor is that Shurmur and his coaching staff have been unable to clean up Jones’ fumbling problem (13, leads NFL), which was also a problem for him at Duke (54 fumbles). Offensive coordinator Mike Shula has harped on keeping two hands on the ball in the pocket, but unfortunately, this remains an issue.
If the Giants do decide to move in a different direction following 2019, Rivera would make all the sense in the world if he is let go from Carolina. Unlike Shurmur, who previously failed as a head coach with the Cleveland Browns in 2011-2012 (9-23), Rivera has proven himself with the Panthers going 76-60 (.558) in nine seasons. Rivera also has two AP NFL Coach of the Year awards (2013, 2015), four playoff appearances (3-4 record), and an NFC title (2015) during this span.
Rivera has won at least six games in every season since the Panthers hired him back in 2011. This is something Shurmur has yet to do in this league. Interestingly enough, Shurmur’s Browns teams regressed from a 5-11 campaign in 2011 to 4-12 the following year before he was let go. History has a funny way of repeating itself, as he is on pace to replicate this sequence in 2018-19 with the Giants.
An additional factor worthy of note stems from Rivera’s previous ties with Giants general manager Dave Gettleman, who served in this exact role with the Panthers from 2012 until he was fired in July of 2017. This duo went 51-28-1 during their five seasons together making the playoffs three-times (3-3 record), capturing three-division titles and making a Super Bowl appearance. What’s more impressive about this feat is that the Panthers have only made the playoffs eight times in their 24-year history.
The Shurmur-Gettleman duo has not gotten off to the most promising start in their first two seasons together. If Tepper decides to make wholesale changes in Carolina and Rivera becomes available, the Giants should jump to hire him given his prior success with Gettleman and proven track record in this league.
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