The moment the 4th quarter ended in the New York Giants‘ disappointing loss to the Jets, head coach Pat Shurmur wax expected to be on the hot seat, considering the angered expression stretching across the face of owner, John Mara.
The Giants currently sit 2-8 on the season, a year which was expected to present more opportunity and optimism than last, but that reality has fallen short. Shurmur’s coaching has taken a cliff diving lesson — poor time management, in-game decisions, and personnel choices have littered the Giants’ performances.
However, Shurmur’s lack of coaching quality has put him on the hot seat, and you can thank rookie quarterback Daniel Jones for that. Jones has recorded a touchdown through the air in each of his first eight starts as an NFL player. He has also managed to log four scores in two of his last three games and over 300 passing yards.
Overall, Shurmur has done a stellar job helping Jones progress and develop into a competent signal-caller at the professional level. If he can alleviate his fumble troubles, the future looks bright for Jones and Big Blue.
Can Daniel Jones save the job of Pat Shurmur?
While I don’t anticipate Shurmur being fired anytime soon, there will come the point where Jones can handle his own. Pat has been instrumental in putting him in a position to succeed and produce in his rookie season, but continuous in-game mistakes will put him on the hot seat eventually.
Hopefully, given the injection of more talent across the board, those mistakes will begin to disappear. This upcoming draft and offseason should give general manager Dave Gettleman an opportunity to retool with Odell Beckham Jr. and Eli Manning’s salaries coming off the books. I anticipate they will have around $80 million to spend in free agency after cutting several players.
Realistically, they will be able to sign a top pass rusher, quality linebacker, free safety, and right tackle.