A SECOND WIND
Shurmur must prove he is worthy of another NFL opportunity
THIS is the second chance many of them do not get, the second chance Pat Shurmur has sought since getting chewed up and spit out of the Cleveland Coach-Killing Factory six years ago. His task is a giant one: Pick the New York Football Giants up by the scruff of the neck and lead them back to glory.
And do it now, before Eli Manning’s Super Bowl window closes forever.
Shurmur has the stability he never had with the Browns, and a rookie running back who is expected to take the league by storm and a game-breaking receiver who won’t be happy until he breaks the Big Blue bank.
He has arrived as the adult in a room taken over last season by children, and with the help of GM Dave Gettleman, he has restored order.
Now it is time for him to prove that he is the right man at the right time.
Now is the time for him to show that he can do for the 37-year-old Manning what he did in Minnesota last season for Case Keenum.
Now is the time for him to lead a team stripped of its pride a year ago and crying out for the right kind of steward
ship.
Bill Belichick was no Hall of Fame head coach in Cleveland, either, and now he’s the patron saint of second chances. And sure, as great as he is, he doesn’t have five rings without GOAT Tom Brady.
Mike Shanahan clashed with Al Davis before making good on his second chance to win a pair of Super Bowls with John Elway — 37-year-old John Elway and 38-year-old John Elway.
Jon Gruden was traded by Davis and beat the Raiders to win a Super Bowl with the Bucs.
The list of second-chance failures — Norv Turner, Eric Mangini, Herm Edwards, Rex Ryan, Mike Ditka, among others — is longer, and for Pete Carroll, only the third time was the charm.
Shurmur has forged the beginnings of a promising relationship with Odell Beckham Jr., which will help should slow-play contract negotiations between the celebrity receiver and the club threaten a training camp showdown.
Ben McAdoo reached the playoffs as a rookie head coach with a free-agent-fortified defense, but did not know how to weather the storm of adversity in his sophmore-jinx season.
Shurmur is more Tom Landry in demeanor than Bill Parcells, but his toughness should not be underestimated.
Shurmur was compromised by the lockout as a rookie head coach in 2011 and then by an ownership change to Jimmy Haslam.
Add in the fact Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy were the quarterbacks and Trent Richardson the running back and you better understand why Shurmur was 9-23 there.
Now is the time for him to show he has learned from the experience. management .— Shurmur’s skills game were an issue in Cleveland, but Saquon Barkley running (and receiving) behind a remodeled and much-improved offensive line and Manning serving as a coach on the field will make his life easier.
Shurmur was widely recognized as one of the league’s elite playcallers in 2017, and he will need to be again in 2018 to take the pressure off a defense that is transitioning to the 3-4 under new defensive coordinator James Bettcher and lacks an elite pass rusher.
Gettleman wants a team that can run the football, stop the run and rush the passer. The third part of the equation appears to be the most problematic.
The NFL is a year-to-year league. Sean McVay made an immediate impact with the Rams. Doug Marrone got the Jaguars to the AFC Championship game with Blake Bortles. Sean McDermott ended the Bills’ 18-year playoff drought.
On the flip side, only seven teams have a tougher strength of schedule, and Carson Wentz appears on schedule to lead the Eagles’ defense of their Super Bowl championship.
“You eat an elephant one bite at a time,” Shurmur said at his introductory press conference.
Start chomping. Not tomorrow. Today.