Let’s stop pretending Pat Shurmur will be with the Vikings in 2018
By Adam Patrick
The Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator figures to be a candidate for a number of head coaching opportunities in the upcoming offseason.
Before the start of the 2016 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings brought in Pat Shurmur to be the team’s tight ends coach. Being that he was previously an offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Rams when they were still in St. Louis, the thought was that he would be able to offer a little input into what areas the Vikings’ offense could improve in.
Thanks to a stubborn Norv Turner calling it quits and resigning from his position as Minnesota’s offensive coordinator, Shurmur was named the Vikings’ interim offensive coordinator just seven games into the team’s 2016 season.
The transition from Turner to Shurmur was not as smooth as some may have hoped (considering Minnesota’s players had to learn some new schemes in the middle of the year), but the Vikings obviously felt Shurmur did enough in 2016 to remove the interim tag off of his position this past offseason and make him the team’s permanent offensive coordinator.
In his first full year as the guy leading Minnesota’s offense, the team really could not have asked for better than what Shurmur has been able to do in 2017.
Despite having to deal with key injuries to quarterback Sam Bradford, running back Dalvin Cook, Shurmur has the Vikings currently ranked as the NFL’s 10th-best passing offense and the eighth-best rushing offense. Minnesota is also currently tied with the Atlanta Falcons for the best third-down conversion percentage (46) in the league.
Shurmur’s play-calling has even turned Case Keenum from a mediocre, backup quarterback into a player that now has people arguing for him to be this season’s NFL MVP.
Minnesota Vikings
As is the case for most assistants when they have a successful year of coaching, it should be expected that Shurmur will be among some of the top candidates for a number of head coaching openings this offseason. The New York Giants are one team that is already in need of a new head coach and a handful more teams are likely to be on the hunt within the next month or two, including the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins, Cincinnati Bengals, and Chicago Bears.
Besides the fact that he has already been an NFL coach previously (2011 to 2012 with the Browns), Shurmur will likely be intriguing to a number of teams due to his ability to adapt and structure his offense around the skills of the players he has available.
Just look at how different the Vikings’ offense looks with Keenum under center when compared to what plays were called with Bradford as the starter. Keenum’s mobility is much, much better than Bradford’s and Shurmur has utilized that aspect of Keenum’s game by calling more bootlegs and quarterback draws, which has translated it into success for Minnesota’s offense.
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Some of the best NFL offenses of 2017 (Rams, Houston Texans with Deshaun Watson, Philadelphia Eagles) have been able to be so successful because of the team’s scheme not being entirely dependent on having players with a specific skill-set. This is what has made Shurmur’s system thrive this season and it is also why this year will very likely be his last in Minnesota.