Saquon Barkley backs Giants coach Pat Shurmur amid hot seat talk

Pat Shurmur is one of several NFL head coaches who are in danger of losing their jobs when the regular season concludes on Sunday night, but he has the support of at least one of his star players.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley was asked on Thursday if he still believes in Shurmur, and he said he remains confident in the head coach and the team’s entire staff.

Saquon Barkley: Still a believer in Pat Shurmur #Giants pic.twitter.com/huRb3jf1Gd

— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) December 26, 2019

“I not only believe in Pat Shurmur, but I believe in all the coaches we have here,” Barkley said. “It’s easy to point the blame at one person. … At the end of the day, it’s not only on one person why we haven’t been successful these last two years.”

Two seasons may not be enough time for a head coach to completely turn things around for a team, but Shurmur’s predecessor, Ben McAdoo, had an overall record of 13-15 when the Giants fired him in his second season on the job. Even if the Giants manage to pull off the upset against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Shurmur would be 10-22 in his two seasons as the head coach in New York.

The Giants have yet to commit to bringing Shurmur back in 2020, but they have reportedly been pleased with the work he has done with rookie quarterback Daniel Jones. However, it’s worth noting that developing a rookie QB is one of the reasons Freddie Kitchens was promoted to head coach with the Cleveland Browns, and we all see how that has worked out. In fact, Baker Mayfield was asked a similar question recently to the one Barkley was asked about his coach on Thursday, but Mayfield’s response was much different.

Sunday’s game probably won’t have a huge bearing on what the Giants do with Shurmur. They may have already made up their minds regardless of whether they are able to spoil the Eagles’ fun or not.