Oh, Todd Monken... what did you do to our sweet John Harbaugh? Everything was going swimmingly for the New York Giants until Monken flipped the entire thing on its head by spurning his former HC in Baltimore to be the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
It was widely assumed the 60-year-old would follow his former coach to North Jersey, but in the end, passing up his first NFL HC gig after working 37 years in the sport just wasn't worth it. Plus, he gets to work with Pro Bowl quarterback Shedeur Sanders... so, I guess that's cool.
Now that Monken is officially off the board, it's anyone's guess as to who the G-Men replace him with, but the rumors are starting to surface, with one shedding a bad light on the recently hired coach.
For anyone looking for weaknesses, Harby's kryptonite couldn't be more obvious in that once his first option gets taken away, he moves mad and loses all sense of self. Case in point, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the NY Post, the 63-year-old could seriously consider bringing Pat Shurmer in to run the offense:
Here's another name #Giants should consider for offensive coordinator with past ties to John Harbaugh: Pat Shurmur.
— Ryan Dunleavy (@rydunleavy) January 29, 2026
He was good with Daniel Jones, good with Shedeur Sanders and if Vance Joseph can go back to Broncos as DC, the humble Shurmur can go back to Giants as OC.
That's giving major one-step-forward, two steps back, especially with plenty of other strong candidates still available.
John Harbaugh’s backup OC plan raises eyebrows following Todd Monken decision
At least they didn't consider the 60-year-old for the head coach opening. That would have been something. Still, with innovative and intriguing up-and-coming options like Davis Webb, Nate Scheelhaase, and Charlie Weis Jr, panicking to Shurmur feels like the wrong move.
It reminds me of a Nickelback song -- this is how you remind me. And it goes a little something like this:
Never landed Harby’s Monken
Now the Giants' offense feels totally sunken
They could have hired someone electric
Now it’s looking like peak-Shurmur panic
And this is how you rewind me
And rewinding is the exact opposite of where this team should be headed. All gas, no breaks. Gas it up. Take this team to the moon -- what are we doing here?
Shurms went 9-23 as the HC back in 2018-19, ultimately flaming out of the league entirely in 2021. The latest news to come out of his camp is that he was stripped of his play-calling duties at Colorado because Deion Sanders knew he wasn't getting the most out of the Buffs' offense.
It's clear time's passed him by, but Shurmur might just be the tip of the kryptonite, because Greg Roman's name has been floated around, too -- another abject disaster waiting to happen. The league is all about offensive innovation, so how about we steer clear of the guys who have literally been fired because they can't get with the times?
Please note: the featured image was created using AI