New York Giants to Hire Mike Shula as New Offensive Coordinator

The New York Giants’ offensive coordinator position appears to finally be filled. Kimberly Jones of NFL Network reports that former Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula will serve as the team’s offensive coordinator, as well as quarterbacks coach.

Time With Panthers

Shula had spent the past seven seasons with the Panthers organization, starting as the team’s quarterback coach from 2011-2012. He was then promoted to offensive coordinator in 2013, where he served for five seasons. Shula has played a significant role in the development of quarterback Cam Newton. In 2015, Newton won the NFL MVP award under Shula, where he threw for 3,837 yards, 35 touchdowns and ten interceptions while accumulating a 99.4 passer rating. Not only that, but Newton rushed for 636 yards and ten touchdowns on 132 carries that season.

Shula was fired by the Panthers at the end of the 2017 season, due in part to their struggling offense. Carolina’s offense ranked 19th in total offense (323.7 yards/game), 28th in passing (192.3), and fourth in rushing (131.4). Some of that can be attributed to the depth at wide receiver.

Responsibilities in New York

Shula will be reunited with his former general manager in Dave Gettleman.

As mentioned above, Shula will essentially have two jobs under head coach Pat Shurmur. He will be in charge of running the offense, as well as coach the quarterbacks. With Eli Manning serving as the starter, Shula will be in charge of developing Davis Webb, as well as their potential first-round quarterback, if the team choose to draft one this Spring. His work with Newton in Carolina does speak for itself.

Shula’s Panthers did have a lack of depth at the wide receiver position. Now, Shula inherited Odell Beckham Jr., Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram to work with in New York.

The Giants’ total offense ranked 21st in the league in terms of yards per game (314.2) last season. However, the sticking point which led to the firing of Ben McAdoo was the lack of scoring. Last season, New York ranked 31st in points per game (15.4), as the team failed to score more than 30 points in a single game.

Shula will not be calling the offensive plays, as Shurmur will assume those responsibilities. The Giants are expected to officially announce the hire on Wednesday or Thursday.