Tag: Pat Shurmur

Former Giants head coach Pat Shurmur is a candidate to be the Commanders offensive coordinator

Pat Shurmur has a positive history of working with young quarterbacks.

The Washington Commanders fired offensive coordinator Scott Turner last week after three seasons with the team. Turner did some good things during his time in Washington, but the offense fading down the stretch and costing the Commanders a playoff spot doomed Turner.

After Turner was fired, we here at Commanders Wire compiled a list of 11 possible candidates to be Washington’s next offensive coordinator. On Friday, it was revealed that the Commanders were interested in former Colts and Lions head coach Jim Caldwell as offensive coordinator. However, Caldwell told Washington he was only interested in interviewing for head-coaching positions.

Another name has emerged as a candidate for Washington’s vacant offensive coordinator position: Veteran coach Pat Shurmur is a candidate, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

We included Shurmur on our list of 11 candidates.

Shurmur, 57, does have a history with head coach Ron Rivera. The pair worked alongside one another on Andy Reid’s staff in Philadelphia from 1999-2003. Also on that staff was current Commanders tight ends coach Juan Castillo.

That checks one box

Shurmur also has a history of working with and developing young quarterbacks. Donovan McNabb, Sam Bradford and Daniel Jones are some of the young quarterbacks who Shurmur has coached. You could make the argument that Bradford’s best success came under Shurmur, and McNabb was one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks during his time with Shurmur.

This matters because the Commanders have apparently told prospective candidates that Sam Howell is Washington’s plan at quarterback for 2023.

In addition to Shurmur’s time with Philadelphia, where he coached tight ends, quarterbacks and the offensive line during his 10 seasons under Reid, he is also a two-time head coach. Shurmur was head coach of the Cleveland Browns for two seasons [2011-12] and the New York Giants [2018-19]. Both franchises were bad before Shurmur took those jobs.

As an offensive coordinator, he has an excellent resume. In 2017, he was named the Associated Press NFL assistant coach of the year for his work as the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator. He has also had stints as offensive coordinator with the Eagles, Rams and Broncos.

Shurmur didn’t coach in the NFL last season. The Broncos fired head coach Vic Fangio after the 2021 season, which left Shurmur without a job.

Shurmur would be a solid choice for Rivera. Whoever Rivera chooses, the next offensive coordinator should tailor an offense around Howell rather than forcing Howell to adapt to their scheme.

Shurmur would check a lot of boxes for Rivera and is respected around the NFL.

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Ex-Giants coach Pat Shurmur praises QB Daniel Jones

Ex-New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur isn’t surprised by Daniel Jones’ success and heaped praise on his former quarterback this week.

Former New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur spent just one season with quarterback Daniel Jones, but it was more than enough to form an opinion.

Shurmur had faith in Jones the moment the Giants selected him sixth overall in the 2019 NFL draft, and that faith remains to this day.

“His first year, I think it’s fair to say that he did enough things that he had the ability to have a bright future,” Shurmur told NJ Advance Media. “Probably the only thing you could have been critical of when he was a rookie was his ability to take care of the ball. But as far as throwing the ball and running it and doing what you have to do as a quarterback, you had to walk away from that first year saying this guy really has a chance to be good.”

Jones did struggle with turnovers early on, but he’s essentially eliminated that issue here in his fourth season. He also has the Giants on the brink of the playoffs for the first time since 2016, and Shurmur is thrilled for his former quarterback.

“I’ve been really impressed by him,” Shurmur said. “He’s played some really fine games and done a great job of taking care of the football. He has been executing their offense and (the Giants’ coaches) are doing a good job of utilizing his ability on structured running plays. That’s when you have to be really, really conscious of taking care of the football and he has done that.”

Statistically, Jones hasn’t been able to recreate the same production he had under Shurmur. As a rookie, he threw for over 3,000 yards and 24 touchdowns in just 13 games (12 starts). But, as the former coach noted, the turnovers are way down and that has lead to many more wins.

The progression and development comes as no surprise to Shurmur.

“I’m not surprised at all by what he’s doing,” Shurmur said. “I’ve seen the way he works and I always thought he was a good leader and a very talented guy. I’m just happy about his success. It takes a while for quarterbacks to develop, and he has done that. I’m rooting for him. When I was part of that organization, we did a quarterback evaluation that year and we felt he was our guy. I think it was a smart decision.”

Former general manager Dave Gettleman always believed Jones was the guy. Now we know that Shurmur and Joe Judge did as well. Co-owner John Mara has echoed those sentiments, and it seems current GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll agree. But will that position change come the offseason?

The Giants declined Jones’ fifth-year option and he is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in March.

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Did Odell Beckham Jr. imply Dave Gettleman tried to ‘ruin his career?’

Former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. may have accused Dave Gettleman of trying to ruin his career by trading him.

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Former New York Giants star wideout Odell Beckham Jr. may have recently implied that the team’s ex-general manager, Dave Gettleman, tried to ruin his career.

This isn’t the first time Beckham has accused Gettleman and former head coach Pat Shurmur of working against him, but it may be the first time he implied they tried to ruin his career. He also previously stated that the Giants organization had a personal vendetta against him. And yet, Beckham has also said that he’s not afraid of a return to New York.

Over his eight-year NFL career, OBJ has amassed 531 receptions for 7,367 yards and 56 touchdowns. Five of his eight seasons and roughly 75% of his career production happened in New York, and with Shurmur and Gettleman gone, it’s not as far-fetched to think he might return to Giants before his career ends.

Even Art Stapleton had something to say about it.

If you scroll through the replies, you’ll see that OBJ responded as well. That he’s interacting with members of the Giants organization and their media shows that he may be open to returning sometimes down the line. If nothing else, he didn’t dismiss that potential.

The bottom line is that a potential future reunion between Beckham and the Giants can’t be ruled out. At least not anymore. Those who he felt were working against him are no longer in East Rutherford, while his relationship with co-owner John Mara remains strong.

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6 members of Vic Fangio’s old coaching staff have landed with NFL teams

Ed Donatell, Curtis Modkins and Chris Kuper are among the former members of Vic Fangio’s coaching staff who have landed new jobs.

By our unofficial count, the Denver Broncos parted ways with 14 members of Vic Fangio‘s coaching staff in addition to Fangio himself.

At the time of this writing, six of those coaches have landed gigs with other NFL teams.

Ed Donatell has accepted a defensive coordinator position with the Minnesota Vikings, assuming the same role he held in Denver.

Minnesota also hired ex-Broncos running backs coach Curtis Modkins (same role) and ex-Denver assistant offensive line coach Chris Kuper as their new OL coach. The Vikings also poached quality control coach Justin Rascati from the Broncos’ staff, giving him a promotion as an assistant OL coach.

Ex-Denver special teams coordinator Tom McMahon was hired by the Las Vegas Raiders as their new STC. Former Broncos assistant ST coach Chris Gould was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers to fill the same position he held in Denver.

Elsewhere in L.A., former Broncos assistant coach Chris Beake has joined the Los Angeles Rams as their new linebackers coach.

Perhaps the most notable former members of Fangio’s staff still available are offensive line coach Mike Munchak and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Munchak and Shurmur both have head coach experience in the NFL.

As for Fangio, he is expected to take a year off from coaching.

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Report: Giants’ Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll creating ‘fun’ environment

New York Giants GM Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll are already changing the culture in East Rutherford, including with the support staff.

The New York Giants have endured many downs over the past decade, which has led to a tough working environment in East Rutherford.

Due to the constant turnover, employees and staff around the team’s facility have found themselves in a relentless cycle of meeting and adjusting to new people. And while respect has always flowed from one side to the other, the lack of stability has been trying.

Following the retirement of general manager Dave Gettleman and the termination of head coach Joe Judge, the team’s employees are once again dealing with change. This time however, the arrival of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll has led to a more positive environment.

Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports that the new leading duo are very “hands-on” with the team’s employees, leading to a more pleasant vibe.

This news is not necessarily a knock on Gettleman, Judge, Pat Shurmur or even Ben McAdoo, but more a testament to the change in personalities that now run the show.

Gettleman was viewed in public as blunt and standoffish, while Judge ran a tight ship — especially with his coaches. And although he did go out of his way to procure large Christmas bonuses for the team’s support staff, he was far less interactive than Schoen and Daboll appear to be.

If the Giants truly wish to change their culture, Schoen and Daboll are going about it the right way. And early returns sound positive.

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Broncos fire offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur

After scoring 20.2 points per game in 2020 and 19.7 PPG in 2021, the Broncos have fired OC Pat Shurmur.

In addition to firing head coach Vic Fangio, the Denver Broncos have also fired offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis reported Sunday morning.

Denver hired Shurmur in 2019 after his unsuccessful tenure as the New York Giants’ head coach from 2018-2019. Shurmur had plenty of experiences as an offensive coordinator when he joined the Broncos, but it did not translate to success.

Denver’s offense scored 20.2 points per game last year, the fifth-lowest average in the NFL. The team made no progress in that department this season, averaging just 19.7 points per game.

Broncos general manager George Paton will be responsible for hiring the team’s next head coach, and that new coach will likely have a large role in picking the team’s next offensive coordinator.

Before Shurmur, Denver went through four offensive coordinators in four seasons: Rick Dennison (2016), Mike McCoy (2017), Bill Musgrave (2018) and Rich Scangarello (2019). The Broncos will now aim to get the next hire right to have some stability at the position.

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Ron Rivera, Pat Shurmur respond to Joe Judge’s comments

Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera and Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur respond to comments made by Joe Judge.

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New York Giants head coach Joe Judge talks. He talks a lot and unsurprisingly, that occasionally gets him into trouble.

Such was the case last Sunday when Judge, following a humiliating loss to the Chicago Bears, unleased a wild 11-minute rant that spewed venom in every direction.

One of Judge’s most controversial comments was about the state of the Giants organization when he took over.

“When I came here and I sat down with all the players, I wanted to know what it was like in here, what we had to change from their mouths, all right, to a man every player looked me in the eye and said, Joe, it’s not a team, they don’t play hard, we’re out of playoffs, everybody quit, everybody tapped, they stopped showing up to captains meetings, all that stuff. Right? They tapped out. Okay?” Judge said.

The comment seemed to indicate that Pat Shurmur lost the locker-room prior to his termination. And that didn’t sit particularly well with the Denver Broncos’ offensive coordinator, who clearly wanted to address the situation on Wednesday but refrained.

Judge also made a “fist fighting” comment that caught the attention of Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera.

“So this ain’t a team that’s having fistfights on the sidelines. This ain’t some clown show organization or something else,” Judge said. “You talk about the foundation built, you talk about the things that — the toughest thing to change in a team, the toughest thing to change in a club is the way people think. You understand that? That’s the toughest thing. You can get new players, you can’t get out of your damn locker room all you want, you got to change how people thinking.”

Washington, of course, saw a pair of their players get into a scuffle on the sideline earlier this season. So, naturally, Rivera (and everyone else) assumed the comment was directed at them.

“Honestly, I just find it interesting and, I have no response to that,” Rivera told reporters on Wednesday. “To me, the important thing is we play on Sunday more so than anything else, you know? I’m more concerned with getting ready to play a football game as opposed to anything else.”

Judge later denied that his comments were about Washington or any other team. Instead, he says, he was speaking generally.

Either way, Rivera was not interested in engaging.

“As far as I’m concerned, what people don’t know, that’s just the fact that they’re not paying attention or enough attention to understand what’s going on. So I’m not gonna worry about it. I’m just gonna go forward,” Rivera added.

“I have enough respect for the the Giants organization, you know, for, for what Mr. (John) Mara and Mr. (Steve) Tisch have done there. You know, this is one of the staples of the NFL as far as I’m concerned.”

Less is more. If Judge hangs around in East Rutherford, that’s a lesson he absolutely must learn.

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Broncos practiced Philly Special ‘a couple of times,’ never at full speed last week

The Broncos practiced their ‘Philly Special’ a few times last week, but not at full speed, according to QB Drew Lock.

Facing a fourth-and-goal situation from the two-yard line against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur called a “Philly Special,” a trick play that has a wide receiver throw the ball to the quarterback.

Mike Boone, the team’s third-string running back, took the ball from quarterback Drew Lock and ran left, giving a pitch to Kendall Hinton, the team’s fourth-string wide receiver. Hinton then looked to pass to Lock, who was open, but there was too much pressure in Hinton’s face for him to get off a timely, accurate throw.

Lock managed to catch Hinton’s pass, but he was tackled well short of the goal line and Denver turned the ball over on downs.

“I thought, from my perspective, Hinton did a heck of a job just being able to get the ball out,” Lock said after the game. “When they’re bringing two guys off that edge, they had a good call against it.

“We were hoping just to have an end and act like a zone read and pull it off. We had a couple of guys coming off the edge, hoping we would get it out, and try to punch it in after we catch it. Good call by them. Good defense by them.”

Lock said the team practiced the play “a couple of times” last week leading up to the game, but because the Broncos had a COVID-19 outbreak that sidelined 12 players, Denver did not have any full-speed practices.

“Never full speed this week; we didn’t really have practice,” Lock said. “We worked on it a couple times, hit it a couple of times.”

Lock injured his right shoulder earlier in the game and left for one series to get a shot before returning. After returning, the Broncos ran a quarterback sneak with Lock to pick up a first down and then later called a pass play to Lock that resulted in another hit on the quarterback.

Those kind of decisions from Denver’s offensive staff help explain why Shurmur is expected to be on the hot seat when Black Monday arrives next week.

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15 wild quotes from Giants coach Joe Judge’s epic rant

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge went on an epic 11-minute rant following a Week 17 loss and here are 15 of his most wild quotes.

The New York Giants were completely disassembled by the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field. The game was literally over after the very first play and the remaining 59 minutes were very much like torture.

Following the game, a clearly frustrated Joe Judge was asked why he had faith about turning around a bad Giants team. What ensured was a nearly 12-minute rant that covered an impressively wide range of topics.

Some of the rant came off as little more than babble, while other parts of it had substance. Judge touched on Vegas odds, former players, Pat Shurmur’s team, Giants fans and much, much more.

Below is a look at 15 of the craziest things that came out of Judge’s mouth on Sunday.

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Broncos are wasting a talented defense

The Broncos are wasting a talented defense.

Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio is a great defensive coordinator — the stats back that up. Denver has allowed just 17.4 points per game this season, the third-best average in the NFL.

Unfortunately, Fangio’s head coach duties include much more than coaching the defense, and his non-defensive decisions — such as clock management and challenges — have left a lot to be desired. Fangio also hired offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and he has stuck with him despite the offense’s struggles.

The Broncos obviously also need a quarterback, but they’re not maximizing the talent they do have on offense. On defense, Denver can burn through linebackers and plug in cornerbacks and continue clicking despite injuries. On offense, the Broncos can’t even scheme up a touchdown for Jerry Jeudy.

Andrew Mason of DNVR tweeted a stat on Sunday evening that perfectly sums up Fangio’s time in Denver.

“I thought the defensive players did a great job,” Fangio said after Sunday’s 15-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. “That’s a really good offense. They score a lot of points against most everybody. They get a lot of yards. My hat’s off to the defense, I thought they played extremely well.”

Once again, the defense playing “extremely well” wasn’t good enough, as had been a theme for the Broncos since Fangio arrived.

Expect changes in Denver this offseason.

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