With Matt Patricia reportedly heading to the Lions, the Giants are down to two finalists, apparently, for their vacant head-coaching job.
They are, based on prior reports, Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
The current thinking in league circles is that McDaniels will go to the Colts, if he goes anywhere other than New England. Really, why would the guy whose first order of business was to trade Jay Cutler away from the Broncos want to walk into a situation that will require an immediate decision about Eli Manning?
That leaves Shurmur as the favorite, unless there really is a mystery fourth candidate lurking in the weeds.
Shurmur previously served as head coach of the Browns for two seasons, generating a 9-23 record. (That 9-23 over two years is suddenly looking pretty good in Cleveland.) In New York, he’d quite possibly be saddled with Eli at least for a year, which could make it hard to get Case Keenum to come to town -- much harder than if Shurmur would take the job in Arizona.
Regardless of where he ends up, Shurmur has earned a chance to coach his own team again. With the Giants, he’d have a receiver in Odell Beckham Jr. who can and will do on a regular basis the kind of thing Stefon Diggs did with the season on the line on Sunday.
