Shurmur is already at the clock

Such a high pressure point was not expected to arrive so early for Pat Shurmur.

Not six weeks after his first season as a Giants head coach.

But there is no honeymoon period for an NFL coach who was hired by a team that used the second choice to draw a potentially transcendent race as the final piece of a puzzle. in the playoffs; she has spent more than $ 75 million to repair an offensive line a disaster and another $ 95 million to soothe and secure her star receiver.

This is where Shurmur is: in crisis with a 1-5 record after the loss of 34-13 of the night, Thursday night, without defeat against the Eagles, rival of the NFC East MetLife Stadium.

He stands in front of a team – his team – at a nauseating crossroads, at only six games of a season that seems over and dusted even before the leaves of the trees even considered participating in a fall foliage .

So, how does Shurmur handle this mess – the overpaid offensive line that could actually perform worse than the one Ereck Flowers was on a year ago, the veteran quarterback who looks more like rigid and timid than ever, the capricious diva receiver who is about to melt in the middle of almost every game, the defense too expensive and underperforming who can not stop a nosebleed?

In any case, his management from here will go a long way in defining his mandate – no matter how long – as the 20th head coach in franchise history.

Because until now, it has not been enough.

The record 1-5 that the Giants will carry with them until their next game, October 22 in Atlanta, is the same record 1-5 as the vile trained and finally sent back by Ben McAdoo at the same time a year ago.

And McAdoo's 1-5 arrived without Saquon Barkley running, without the free striker Nate Solder ($ 62 million) supposed to protect the back of Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. be fat and happy with his $ 95 million deal. dollars.

The Giants average of 19.5 points per game is ranked 28th in the NFL, but Shurmur's specialty is his prowess as an offensive coach and quarterback manager. This is one of the main reasons he was hired.

How long has Shurmur's magic mingled with Case Keenum, her quartermate, and the excitement of the playoffs in Minnesota?
Certainly not only a few months, but years.

What's the path for Shurmur, who behaves like a good, classy and respectful man, who do you want to succeed?

Although management has decided to play in the playoffs this season – with the drafting of Barkley instead of a future quarterback (Sam Darnold), the huge sums of money spent on repairing the leaky line, the exorbitant contract of Beckham – the Giants are not going to the playoffs.

Since 1966, 175 NFL teams have started the season with a 1-5 record and exactly two of them have qualified for the playoffs.

So, now that this season has moved to an early stage of the garbage season, how (what?) Shurmur keeps this team together and improves his most severe test as the lead coach who will define it and how long he will stay in New York.

Because make no mistake: when things go so bad for a team that has entered a season with the very high expectations of the Giants, players in the locker room get fractured or become apathetic.

None of these options are acceptable.

And if any of these things seep into the Giants' locker room, it's overwhelming evidence that Shurmur may not have been the man for this job.

"I know there are reasons for new coaches," Shurmur said Friday. "I'm one of the new coaches in last year's league and you have to do everything in your power to make sure your locker room is in the right place so everyone is playing the right way and in the right way. meaning, and the way you can win games.

"We are trying to get away from 3-13," Shurmur said of the 2017 record. "The record is not talking about it for the moment. I understand that. But you just keep playing and keep working. "

Last week, Shurmur showed remarkable and severe leadership when, after the controversial Beckham-Beckham interview in which he threw Manning (and coach) under the bus, he ordered Beckham to ask his teammates clean up the clouds.

Shurmur will need more disciplinary determination as his flickering team advance in this lost season.

Times are tough for Shurmur and they arrive much earlier than anyone could have predicted.

To the delight of fans of Giants and Shurmur, he hopes to be able to navigate these tumultuous waters and straighten the bar of this ship before joining the ranks of Tom Coughlin and McAdoo.