He came and went so quickly, at times it is almost difficult to recall the Pat Shurmur years with the Giants.
There were two of them, they went badly, and just like that, he was gone. He resurfaced with the Broncos in 2020 and on Sunday he will call the plays on offense and try to light up the MetLife Stadium scoreboard, taking aim at the Giants’ defense.
That is something Shurmur has been able to do at many of the stops along his NFL trail, though not as a head coach. He had a losing record (9-23) with the Browns and, six years later, got another crack at the big job and went 9-23 with the Giants.
Shurmur, 56, was a washout as head coach, but is a respected figure around the NFL, as far as his offensive acumen, play-calling and route designs. He is breaking in a new, though experienced quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, but the Broncos have plenty of talent at wide receiver and they always show a proclivity to run the ball.
Shurmur was under contract with the Giants and could have sat out last season. Instead, he went to work for Broncos head coach Vic Fangio, running the offense in Denver.
“I’m not really good at catching my breath,’’ Shurmur told reporters in Denver. “I’m an educator, a coach by trade, and so I wanted to do that. I kind of had a professional relationship with Vic prior to coming here. When I went to New York I sort of talked to him about maybe coming there, but the Bears did a good job of keeping him, so I had a relationship there. I wanted to coach. It’s what I do, and I wanted to go somewhere and have an impact.”
Shurmur has been involved in the NFL since 1999. Joe Judge made it into the league in 2012. The two have what is commonly called a business relationship, in that they are in the same line of work and their paths have crossed often.
“I think Pat’s a fine man,’’ Judge said. “We’ve shared a beer together. We’ve gone to Mass together. We’ve gotten ashes on Ash Wednesday together. This is a guy that I’ve always taken time to sit down and talk with. I think he’s one of the great offensive minds in all of football. I think he does a fantastic job. I can’t speak highly enough of him as a person. I think he’s a fantastic person. He’s a great man.
“I think a lot of players in this building obviously have ties with him. I think that’s important. This guy came to work every day and did his best to put these guys in a position to be successful and our guys recognize that. This guy worked hard every day for them.’’
Shurmur inherited a sticky situation at quarterback with the Giants, as he had to shepherd the end of Eli Manning’s 16-year career and usher in Daniel Jones, who was a surprise pick of the Giants at No. 6 overall in 2019. Shurmur, after two games in 2019, had seen enough of Manning and named Jones, a rookie, as the starter.
“I think the best way to learn is playing the game and I got that experience early,’’ Jones said.
Shurmur has a strong reputation as a molder and shaper of quarterbacks. Front office executives with the Giants believe Shurmur was good for Jones in their one year together.
“I think he did a great job simplifying things at times for me and teaching things in a way that were easy to understand for me and simplifying some of the reads,’’ Jones said. “Teaching it clearly that way and allowing me to play with what I saw and make decisions quickly.’’
There is no doubt Shurmur wants to return, put up a ton of points and leave with a victory. He said there are no hard feelings, though.
“I worked really hard with those guys in that building for two years and I sort of root for them,’’ Shurmur said of the Giants. “Not so much this week probably, but I want them to have success.’’