When the New York Giants hired Pat Shurmur to be their head coach in January, almost everyone who mattered applauded the move. Ben McAdoo was not the right guy in New York, and Shurmur was the anti-McAdoo – a coach who could deal with players and the media as well as jump-start the sagging offense.

Thus far, Shurmur has shown that he can handle the first two. The players respect him, and the media have warmed to his frank, fatherly demeanor. It is the third aspect that he has failed in.

The Giants offense is still sputtering despite wholesale changes to the offensive line and coaching staff. The line is inexplicably worse than it was last season. No one ever thought that could be possible.

Shurmur missed out on several assistants, specifically Vikings quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski, whom Minnesota blocked the Giants from interviewing. He was Shurmur’s preference, especially after the Vikings hired John DeFilippo over Stefanski to replace Shurmur as their offensive coordinator.

The Giants then turned to Mike Shula, who had been fired by the Carolina Panthers as their offensive coordinator. Shula had worked under new Giants general manager Dave Gettleman there, so there was some familiarity. Bad move. Terrible move.

In 2017, the Giants offense was next to last in the NFL, averaging 15.4 points per game. Under Shula, despite the addition of a new offensive line and rookie running back Saquon Barkley, they are averaging just 18.8 points per game and near the bottom in both third-down and red zone conversions.

Last year under Shula, the Panthers averaged 22.7 points per game. This year, under the direction of Norv Turner, they are up to nearly 28 points per game. The big difference is obviously Shula. Cam Newton is Cam Newton again.

Another misstep was the hiring of offensive line coach Hal Hunter, who has not made any headway with the line. Hunter is a 30-plus-year veteran in this league, but he’s been doing a poor job in melding this line together.

Absolutely painful for any #Giants fan or reporter to watch. This franchise had Solari employed, and he did an excellent job when you consider the FRINGE talent and no competition on the O-line when he was there, and yet they moved him for Hal Hunter who was out of football. https://t.co/XgNdE2mFO5 — Dan Schneier (@DanSchneierNFL) November 7, 2018

It doesn’t matter much whom the Giants sign going forward, or who plays quarterback. With these two coaches, Shurmur is not giving himself, or the Giants, a chance to get out of the NFC East basement and turn this franchise around.