Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports
The name will appear only on the program one time as Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach and, despite what Pat Shurmur does in Sunday’s otherwise meaningless game against the New York Giants, could never appear again.
That doesn’t mean the one-time Cleveland Browns head coach will not be trying to win and maybe force his name into what figures to be a crowded field of candidates to be named the next Eagles head coach on a permanent basis. If Shurmur can get the rest of the Eagles to try as hard as he will, then that should get the attention of owner Jeffrey Lurie. The reason will be because the coach Lurie fired on Tuesday, Chip Kelly, did not get the same players to try on an impact level in the first 15 games of the season.
Shurmur is just one of several moving parts that make Sunday’s game the most interesting of the group of games that do not involve playoff ramifications. The others are that it could be Tom Coughlin’s last game as head coach of the Giants, and that guy has won two Super Bowls and the Eagles’ standing in the NFL draft.
Shurmur might be the only name right now linked to the job who has NFL head coaching experience, and that is why it will be telling if the Eagles play like a well-coached team. He likes Philadelphia and his son, Kyle Shurmur, was a star quarterback for LaSalle High before accepting a scholarship to Vanderbilt. That could be a reason Shurmur goes with Kelly to the Tennessee Titans if that rumor ever comes to fruition.
If the Eagles lose, they could drop into the top 10 in the draft order. If the Eagles win, they could be in the high teens, and that swing of double-digit picks might have been enough for Lurie to give Shurmur a “wink-wink” after telling him it is the Eagles’ official position to win the game. Shurmur insists otherwise, though, and, within a few hours, we will know if he was telling the truth.
If the Eagles come out big winners, it will certainly get Lurie’s attention and maybe open a door for Shurmur.
Mike Gibson is a featured writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
