While Pat Shurmur was sitting in the stands in Mobile, Ala., watching Senior Bowl practices last Wednesday, his first official assignment as head coach of the Giants, his cellphone rang. On the other end was the franchise quarterback, Eli Manning.
It was a very good sign for Manning that Shurmur took the call.
This was the start of a professional relationship that will largely shape Shurmur’s time with the Giants and carve the final notches in Manning’s legacy. That Shurmur reached out to only one player in his first few days on the job — Shurmur left a message and Manning called him back — is not surprising — and that the one player was Manning was, well, inevitable.