Pat Shurmur, the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, has emerged as the leading candidate to fill the Giants’ vacant head coaching job, according to people with knowledge of the team’s deliberations. The Giants cannot offer Shurmur the job or finalize the terms of a contract with him until the Vikings, who play in Sunday’s N.F.C. Championship game, are no longer in the playoffs.
The NFL Network first reported on Monday that Shurmur had risen to the top of the Giants’ short list of candidates for head coach. Some of the most prominent names on the Giants’ wish list — Matt Patricia, the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, and Josh McDaniels, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator — are expected to take head coaching jobs elsewhere.