NEXT YEAR?
Giants’ Shurmur keeps talking about 2020, but he might not be around for Big Blue
John Mara’s preseason edict for the 2019 Giants was two-fold: “win some games” and demonstrate by Week 17 that “this franchise is headed in the right direction.” But Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur went 0-for-2. And Shurmur admitted as much on Thursday when he was asked if the Giants are any closer to the playoffs and answered: “We’ll find out next year.”
It was an admission that the
GM and coach cannot show ownership tangible results on either front on which they are ultimately being evaluated.
And Shurmur acknowledged he can’t say whether he’ll be here to see next year through. He has a 9-22 record through nearly two full seasons here.
“That’s been a weekly question,” the head coach admitted. “That’s probably a question for later on. We’ll see. My focus quite frankly is — we’ve got a short horizon. My focus is on Sunday.”
On Thursday, Shurmur’s constant references to “next year” were interesting subtle appeals to Mara and Steve Tisch for patience. The coach said, for example, that the Giants are disappointed they are not one of the NFL’s 12 playoff teams. Then Shurmur paused and added the word “yet.”
He also said he believes the team has made progress than is evident in its 4-11 record entering Sunday’s season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles (8-7) at MetLife Stadium.
“I think we made a lot of progress in a lot of areas, and it’s hard to quantify when you don’t match it up with wins — I get that,” Shurmur said. “But we probably played about as many young players as you can play, not because we’re playing young players but because at this point they’re our best players. And so those guys are gonna really benefit from the reps they get. We have a rookie quarterback who made tremendous strides.
“That’s probably a question for next year,” Shurmur reiterated. “But I think if we continue to grow here and build, there’s a lot to be said to going out with a win.”
Saquon Barkley reiterated on Thursday what he told the Daily News in November: He believes in Shurmur and the Giants’ leadership.
“Yeah, I do believe,” Barkley said. “I don’t only believe in Pat Shurmur, but I do believe in all the coaches, I believe in everyone here. It’s easy to point the blame at one person, and that’s what we kind of do. I know this business is a results business, but at the end of the day, it’s not only on one person why we haven’t been successful these last few years.
“For me, I’m not willing to just give up on somebody,” the running back added. “I believe that if we all just continue to fight and continue to fight, have that right mindset, which I do believe and I know that we have, things are going to turn around.”
Shurmur’s fate is not Barkley’s call, however. And truthfully, the players in Dave Gettleman’s locker room who would question the GM or coach aren’t going to at this point, anyway.
You are not going to see any players throw Gettleman and Shurmur under the bus on Friday, either. The GM intentionally removed all of the players who felt free to voice their frustrations in years past.
The opinions that matter are that of Mara and Tisch.
Tisch called this season “very frustrating” to NBC New York in early December and promised a “very honest” conversation with Mara.
In August, the last time Mara addressed the assembled local media, here is what he said he needed to see:
“We need to win some games,” Mara said. “I want to feel like at the end of the season we’re moving in the right direction. I’m not going to say it has to be a minimum number of games that we have to win or we have to make the playoffs. I want to feel when I’m walking off the field after the last game of the season, whenever that is, that this franchise is headed in the right direction. That’s, to me, the most important thing.”
Those are the two most important things, actually. And neither have happened on Gettleman’s and Shurmur’s watch.
INJURY UPDATES
Right tackle Mike Remmers (concussion) and rookie corner Corey Ballentine (back) did not practice Thursday, and eight players were limited on a longer than usual Giants injury report: corners DeAndre Baker (knee) and Sam Beal (shoulder); linebackers Alec Ogletree (back) and Lorenzo Carter (knee); tight ends Rhett Ellison (concussion) and Scott Simonson (concussion); O-lineman Nick Gates (shoulder) and wideout Darius Slayton (knee). Simonson was added to the report after leaving midway through practice.