Shurmur picked as Giants’ head coach
Minnesota offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has been hired as the Giants’ head coach.
The Giants announced the hiring late Monday afternoon, less than 24 hours after Shurmur and the Vikings were beaten by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC title game.
“He has an outstanding track record in developing young players, and it is clear his players respond to his guidance and direction,” coowners John Mara and Steve Tisch said in a statement.
Shurmur, 52, replaces Ben McAdoo, who was fired in early December with the team mired with a 2-10 record and owners and fans upset with his handling of the benching of two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo took the job for the final four games and went 1-3.
The Giants will introduce Shurmur on Friday.
Shurmur returns to the head-coaching ranks for the first time since leading the Browns in 2011-12. He takes over a troubled team that posted a 3-13 record a year after making the playoffs. Titans introduce Vrabel: Tennessee general manager Jon Robinson got his NFL start as a scout with New England, where his new head coach, Mike Vrabel, won three Super Bowl rings as a linebacker.
It seems the Titans are trying to implement “the Patriot Way” in Music City. Vrabel, 42, said that’s what it looks like — until the Titans win big themselves.
“You have to be able to win championships before people start giving you ways to do things,” Vrabel said Monday, after being introduced as the Titans’ head coach.
The Titans and Vrabel agreed to terms Saturday, five days after firing Mike Mularkey coming off the franchise’s first playoff win in 14 years.
Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk noted Robinson and Vrabel have known each other for years. She also likes Vrabel’s experience and vision for building on back-to-back 9-7 seasons.
“I believe he will do everything he can to bring this town a championship,” Strunk said.
Vrabel is coming off his first season as defensive coordinator for the Texans. Vrabel started his NFL career in Pittsburgh under head coach Bill Cowher before signing with New England under Bill Belichick, and he finished in Kansas City. In 2011, Vrabel joined the staff at his alma mater, Ohio State, coaching linebackers and then defensive linemen.
Vrabel went to Houston in 2014 and coached linebackers for three seasons before becoming coordinator. The Texans won the AFC South in 2015 and 2016, thanks to strong defenses. The unit slipped this season amid injuries. Browns bring on Haley: Cleveland’s Hue Jackson is finally handing off his offense.
The Browns’ head coach, who has handled game-planning and play-calling duties while going 1-31 over two seasons with Cleveland, is hiring former Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
Jackson interviewed other candidates but chose Haley, who spent six seasons guiding Pittsburgh’s high-powered offense before he was fired last week following a playoff loss, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday night. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the move. Another Seattle move: The Seahawks have “mutually parted ways” with defensive assistant coach Travis Jones after five seasons.
Jones, 45, served as Seattle’s defensive line coach from 2013 through ’16 and moved into a defensive-assistant role with the team for the 2017 season. He’s the fifth member of Seattle’s coaching staff from the 2017 season who will not be returning.