New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur won’t get in the way in the event any of his assistants receive a call regarding the various head coaching and coordinator vacancies around the NFL, but he will work to retain offensive coordinator Mike Shula and defensive coordinator James Bettcher.
“Yeah. Again, you can’t ever say that,” Shurmur said when asked if he’d retain Shula and Bettcher. “Some guys leave for whatever reasons, but again that’s part of the process that we’ll go through. We’ll meet as coaches and try to find ways to get better.
“I’m all for guys advancing, I really don’t want to stand in anyone’s way and I’ll have some opinions as to whether it’s advancement or not. But, listen, I had ambition as a young coach, you gain experience and want to move forward. I don’t want to stand in anyone’s way. I think as long as I replace that guy with a career coach that’s open-minded, understands the importance of relationships and can work together with the staff, we’ll make it work.”
Shurmur later praised each of his coordinators and, specifically, credited Shula with the offensive turnaround during the second half of the season.
“I have a great deal of respect for Mike and having worked with him now, it worked great because along the way, we’re on the headset talking. He works with the staff, I think he’s done an outstanding job and he’s part of the reason for some of the success, at least offensively, we’ve had in the latter part of the season. I look forward to having him here moving forward,” Shurmur said.
As things currently sit, neither Bettcher nor Shula appear to be in the running for any of the vacant head coaching jobs, which means no other job offer would be considered an “advancement,” allowing Shurmur to deny any interview request should that be the route he decides to take.
