Eli Manning presented the game ball to Pat Shurmur after Sunday’s win over the Texans because, well, that’s what you do. It’s a tradition. When a new coach wins his first game, he gets a memento. Just two years ago, Manning went through the same locker room ceremony with Ben McAdoo. Someone probably did it in 2004 with Tom Coughlin, too, although at that point the players may have already been too exhausted from his barking and demands to hold a proper handoff.
The difference this time was that Shurmur didn’t just receive the token because of NFL etiquette.