Pat Shurmur is no longer the offensive coordinator of the Vikings, but he got recognized for the work he did in that job at the NFL Honors show in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Shurmur was named the assistant coach of the year for his work piloting the Vikings offense. That effort pushed him into several head coaching searches and he was hired by the Giants shortly after the Vikings’ season ended with an NFC Championship Game loss to the Eagles.
The Vikings opened the season with Sam Bradford at quarterback, but had to turn to Case Keenum in Week Two because of Bradford’s latest bout of knee trouble. Keenum turned in an excellent season and Shurmur also kept the offense humming after rookie running back Dalvin Cook was lost for the year with a torn ACL.
This is the fourth year that the Associated Press has held a vote for assistant coach of the year. Shurmur is the third winner -- Todd Bowles and Kyle Shanahan were the others -- who moved on to a head coaching job. Wade Phillips, who won as Broncos defensive coordinator two years ago, is the only exception.