Former Giants quarterback Phil Simms was a guest on Mad Dog Sports Radio on Friday, where he gave his take on the future of Giants head coach Pat Shurmur.
Simms, who played his entire 14-year career with the Giants, said that while he's heard Shurmur is likely to be fired following his second season, there is reason to believe that Shurmur will stick around.
According to Simms, a win over the Eagles on Sunday would go a long way for Shurmur, as not only could it potentially keep the Eagles out of the playoffs, but a third straight win could make ownership stop and reevaluate the team's coaching staff.
"I'm going to be honest, I hear from people that he's going to be fired, and I said 'Are you sure? Do you know that for sure?' and they go 'Yeah, we keep hearing it,' but go out and play a great game, upset the Philadelphia Eagles," Simms said. "You do that, it would make me go back in the building and go 'Let's make sure we think this through.'"
While the Giants struggled for most of the season, Simms has been particularly impressed with the way the coaching staff has handled the progression of rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.
Taking over as the starter in Week 3, Jones has thrown for 2,726 yards and 23 touchdowns compared to 11 interceptions. He's also added two rushing touchdowns as well, and Simms believes that Jones' early success says a lot about Shurmur as a head coach.
"Two years on the job, tremendous transformation in the roster, and the one thing that I have loved about the Giants … I'm excited about my quarterback, and Pat Shurmur has done a good job, a really good job, with Daniel Jones," Simms said. "To me, I don't know how you feel, he's better than I expected it. I had high hopes for him after watching him in training camp, but man, he can let it go, he can get rid of the football. The only thing I wish is they'd use his mobility more, but the throwing, finding the right guy, going to the second receiver -- all of those things he has been great at. I've got to give Pat Shurmur some on that credit."
Sunday's finale against the Philadelphia Eagles could be Shurmur's final game as Giants head coach, or it could be a third straight win to potentially give Shurmur and company momentum heading into next season.
Simms believes there's plenty riding on this Week 17 matchup.
"Week to week in this league, winning a game, it's amazing," Simms said. "It affects the whole building, it affects everybody, so it's got to affect the owners and everybody that makes this decision."