The New York Giants have fired head coach Pat Shurmur after just two years on the job. A 9-23 record, combined with several baffling press conferences to explain the team's struggles, led to the dismissal.
Previously the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, the 56-year old Shurmur compiled an identical 9-23 record in 2011 and 2012 for an 18-46 career mark. He wasn't immediately available for comment following his firing.
Shurmur fails to impress in two years on the job
Taking over for Ben McAdoo before the start of the 2018 season, Shurmur went just 5-11 despite having the best running back in football in Saquon Barkley.
This past year was even worse as New York lost a franchise-record nine games in a row after after a 2-2 start. Wins in two of their final three games as well as the development of rookie quarterback Daniel Jones wasn't enough to save his job.
Mara, Barkley, Jones comment on Shurmur dismissal
In a statement released by the team, Giants co-owner John Mara said "with Pat, it ends up being a gut instinct as much as anything else. We felt like we weren't winning enough games, we weren't winning the games we shouldn't have won and we just need to go in a different direction.
"It's not all Pat's fault. He did a lot of good things here, particularly drafting and training Daniel Jones. I just felt there were so many games we felt we should have won and we just felt we didn't get the job done."
"It sucks", Barkley said. "That's your coach. That's one of the guys that believed in me, believed in DJ (Jones), for us to get here and live our dream of playing in the NFL. You don't want to see anybody go out like that."
"Coach's class and just who he is as a man was apparent", Jones said. "It was apparent also. I think the world of him. I have the ultimate respect for him as a coach and as a person."