The last man to enter his second season as the Giants head coach was fired before it was over. This was after Ben McAdoo took the Giants to the playoffs for the first time in five years. That’s something that shouldn’t be lost on Pat Shurmur as he begins his sophomore year in charge of the Giants after going 5-11 in 2018.

Shurmur already knows a head coach can be gone after two years. It happened to him in Cleveland, where he went 4-12 and 5-11 during the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Add the three years together (plus one game as the Eagles’ interim coach in 2015) and Shurmur owns a less-than-impressive 15-34 record as an NFL head coach. Naturally, Shurmur feels more comfortable leading the Giants than he did last year, when the franchise from the general manager on down was in transition.

“I have a better idea of our team and how our team responds to adversity and how they push through,” Shurmur said Wednesday, which was reporting day for the team’s veterans. “I have a lot better feel for my coaching staff and I have a lot better feel for our opponents that we’re going to play on a yearly basis. We feel like we’re developing a winning team. We’ll just have to go out and get to work.”

Optimism is always high this time of year. Linebacker Alec Ogletree predicted the Giants had the makings of a “top-five, top-10” defense despite the loss of safety Landon Collins and defensive end Olivier Vernon.

“We can shock a lot of people,” Ogletree said.

Shurmur already pronounced the 2018 season as a step in the right direction after 2017 fizzled to a 3-13 finish. GM Dave Gettleman’s selection of quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth-overall pick in April will prompt daily questions that Shurmur must handle without alienating Eli Manning. But the bottom line is a head coach’s trust is built on playing those who give the team the best chance to win. Right now that’s Manning.

If and when that needs to change is going to be a major topic, and Shurmur’s handling of that situation could define his Giants tenure. Clearly he doesn’t mind praising the untested rookie.

“He’s very smart,” Shurmur said. “He’s one of the first guys in, one of the last guys to leave. He gets it from that standpoint. He throws the ball well, moves around well. He executes at a high level out there on the practice field. Training camp is the next step as we prepare for the preseason games and getting him ready to go when it’s his time.”

But the Giants are still Manning’s team and Shurmur’s team, and there is a chance neither will be here for the start of training camp in 2020 if all goes badly for the Giants in 2019.

At least Shurmur won’t have to deal with the drama that often surrounded wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was traded to the Browns.

“He was a headache every day,” said a Giants source not connected with the coaching staff.

Now that Beckham’s gone, Shurmur’s attention is “All Ball,” a slogan on one of the Giants training camp T-shirts. Shurmur must mold a blend of youth and experience to produce a much-needed winning season. It won’t be easy.

He has to do it without the luxury of adding a first-round draft choice to the starting lineup, as Jones figures to be Manning’s backup for the near future. That can put a head coach in a tough situation when the mandate is to win now with a responsibility of developing a young quarterback.

“We talk about being a team, being tough, sticking together and then finishing,” Shurmur said Wednesday. “We want high-character guys. We feel like that’s sort of been the message going through. It’s just about building a team and everybody doing their job and counting on the guy next to them to do their job.”

Shurmur is confident he’s building a winning culture entering his second season as the Giants head coach. Then again, McAdoo thought the same thing.