Pat Shurmur: Why Mike Holmgren Is Making a Mistake If He Hires Shurmur
The Cleveland Browns already look to be just about done with their coaching search. After interviewing three candidates for head coaching job, Mike Holmgren seems to have found his man in Pat Shurmur, offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams.
After reading through everything on Shurmur as talks have progressed, I'm lukewarm about the hire. Maybe it's just how someone who's seen all the coaching turnover over the years is programmed, but it's not easy to get excited about this hire. Could Mike Holmgren be making a mistake in hiring Shurmur? Here's why that seems to be a possibility.
Rams Offense
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The main thing that people are bringing up is that Shurmur has brought in Sam Bradford and turned him into a pretty good NFL quarterback, and can do the same with Colt McCoy. Perhaps that's true, but if you look at the stats, the Rams' offense was not as good as it looked.
They ranked 26th in scoring, and yes Stephen Jackson's had a couple career years, but he also had two straight 300+ carry seasons.
Experience
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We haven't really had good luck with hiring coordinators without professional head coaching experience. Romeo Crennel didn't work out, and Butch Davis was one of many that proves most college coaches should remain just that. Eric Mangini, the only coach we've hired with some experience, was unfortunately doomed from the day he was signed.
Turnover
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If the Browns are going to hire anyone, I would want a guarantee that they would be in place for three seasons. Coaches are removed all too frequently here, and if Mike Holmgren gets fed up with things, he could end up being gone quickly, and the Browns are back where they started.
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New Coordinators
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There's a good chance that new offensive and defensive coordinators will be brought in for Shurmur should he be hired. While I'm entirely fine with a replacement for Brian Daboll, losing Rob Ryan would be a big mistake, and it's a strong possibility.
If Rob Ryan leaves, then it's ten times harder to like this coaching hire, or any that result in that outcome; he's made the defense tough and a solid unit, even if they can't tackle well (and that's not his fault).
Can He Help Rest Of Offense?
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I will admit that in terms of getting Colt McCoy NFL-ready, this is a very good hire, as so far Shurmur has a good track record for quarterbacks. However, it's not that I'm worried about, it's the wide outs. Will he be able to bring in competent wide outs to help out McCoy? You can blame the Rams' woes on their bad wide receiver core on the offensive end, so this is a concern.
Didn't Look Much
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Mike Holmgren's hiring this coach himself, and it'll be on him to make it count. Instead of searching throughout for the best possible option, he interviews three candidates, one of whom was probably just tossed in to comply with the Rooney Rule, and seemed to have his man chosen before this whole process really got going; not sure what to think of that.
Too Close For Comfort?
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There's a fine line between hiring someone you trust and hiring someone you've known a long time. Holmgren worked with Pat Shurmur's father Fritz for many years at Green Bay and Seattle, so he knows what he's getting with Pat as a person. I trust Holmgren is not looking at just hiring the son of the man he worked with closely, but the question does have to be asked.
Shurmur has close ties to GM Tom Heckert, which could also work both ways.
Fans Will Say So
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It's that time of year where all Browns fans are going to complain about the coaching choice before the ink is even dry on the contract. No coach is the right one to some fans, and even if they are, that tone changes after game one. I want this to work, but it's not a hire that some are going to give a chance.
Expectations
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Because this is Mike Holmgren's hire, he's going to expect a lot from him. If things don't work out, which seems to be the track record of the Browns, then the relationship between Heckert, Holmgren and Shurmur could go sour fast, making for a good deal of trouble.
Hard Sell
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Going off the fan issue, Shurmur is a name that few probably knew outside of St. Louis and Philadelphia until this past week. It will be a tough sell to say that he'll turn the franchise around.
Now, and this article progressed, my tune on this hire is certainly not as harsh as it may have seemed at the start. This certainly has the potential to work out in Cleveland, though there are come concerns.
All that Cleveland fans can do is not jump on the "fire coach" bandwagon too quickly. Let's see how it works for a few seasons. If nothing else, if he can make Colt McCoy the best QB since the return, it should work well enough. Is it a mistake? It might be, but now that I've spoken for that side, ironically I feel better about Shurmur as head coach. All that's left to do is pick the right coordinators; that's the most important thing now.
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