Pat Shurmur Officially named Giants Head Coach

The worst kept secret is now official. Pat Shurmur is now the Giants head coach after the Vikings were eliminated from the postseason last night.

Shurmur was the offensive coordinator of a Vikings team that was 11th in the league in total offense, 7th in the NFL in rushing yards per game, and 10th in the NFL in points per game. While Vikings season ended ingloriously in Philadelphia, Shurmur got a lot of credit for turning around the career of quarterback Case Keenum.

Keenum was a career back-up, before he took over for an injured Sam Bradford and threw for 3500 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. A quarterback whisper, Shurmur will be expected to get the most out of Eli Manning in the final years of his career in New York and work toward finding Manning's successor.

The Giants could draft a quarterback with the Number 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft, which could be either Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen. While neither Rosen or Darnold were impressive in college this fall, neither would be expected to start next season IF Manning is still around.

Shurmur has the head coaching experience that the Giants were looking for, albeit it wasn't great experience, considering he went 9-23 with the Cleveland Browns. His old boss, Mike Holmgren, recently told the Daily News that Shurmur was rigid and needed to lighten up during his Cleveland days.

Shurmur will get a five-year deal from the Giants. His press conference will be Friday.

Already Shurmur has been busy. There is a belief now that Shurmur will tab former Raiders coach Jack Del Rio as his defensive coordinator, relieving Steve Spagnuolo of his duties.

As it stands now, ALL seven NFL head coach vacancies have been filled. The Raiders brought back Jon Gruden; the Titans named ex-Patriot linebacker Mike Vrabel as their head coach; the Cardinals hired former Panthers Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilkes as its head coach; the Bears hired former Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Naggy; the Colts will hire Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and the Lions will hire Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

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