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Pat Shurmur was still the Giants head coach on Monday morning, which is how it will likely stay for at least the remainder of the season. And his assistant coaches will apparently remain on the job with him, too.
On the morning after what might have been the most humiliating loss of his Giants tenure, Shurmur said: "Having slept on it, no, I'm not going to make any coaching changes." He had said the same thing in the moments after the Giants' 34-27 loss to the Jets on Sunday afternoon, but that didn't stop speculation that he could change his mind -- or that ownership could change it for him.
A team source confirmed, though, that there were no immediate plans for ownership to either fire Shurmur or to force any staff shakeup in the wake of the Giants' 2-9 record -- at least until the end of the season.
The coach who appears to be in the crosshairs the most is defensive coordinator James Bettcher, who oversees a unit that is shaping up to be statistically one of the worst in Giants history. However, the Giants front office seems to recognize the position Bettcher is in. He has no big-time pass rusher to help his defense out, and the unit is loaded with young players like rookie defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker. There should be even more young players getting prominent roles down the stretch, including second-year cornerback Sam Beal and rookie safety Julian Love. Growing pains are understandable.
There's also the problem of who would take over if Bettcher was fired, since there are no defensive assistants on the staff with experience as a coordinator. Firing him would be a purely cosmetic move to give the front office a scapegoat and to appease an angry fanbase.
And that didn't sound like something Shurmur was inclined to do.
"In terms of coaching changes during the season, in my opinion, I think you've got to look at each one independent," Shurmur said. "I think they're independent of anything, really. Some situations maybe they help. Some they don't. I don't know."
It's much more likely, the source said, that the Giants will revisit Bettcher's status after the season, especially if the rookies and young players don't show signs of improvement in the final five games.
As for Shurmur, he seems safe for now too, and very likely into next season as well. Giants GM Dave Gettleman seems to believe the franchise is headed in the right direction and he has always been one of Shurmur's biggest supporters. And though the final call will belong to co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, Gettleman is obviously a powerful ally for a head coach to have.
Mara, though, looked unusually angry as he left the stadium without speaking to reporters following the embarrassing loss to the Jets. He will likely meet with Gettleman and Shurmur during the bye week, as he often does. Shurmur would not say if any discussions with Mara have already taken place.
"Obviously we're less than 24 hours out from the game and this is the second time you've asked me that question in 24 hours," an agitated Shurmur said. "If I would have had that conversation, it's not something I would share publicly."