NFL notebook: Giants officially hire Pat Shurmur

The New York Giants on Monday officially hired Pat Shurmur to be their next head coach, replacing Ben McAdoo, who won 11 games and reached the playoffs in his first season but was fired Dec. 4 when the Giants were 2-10. Shurmur spent the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. Shurmur's and the Vikings' season came to an end with a 38-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday's NFC Championship Game. This will be Shurmur's second chance at being a head coach. He was 9-23 as Cleveland's head coach in 2011-12 but was fired when new ownership took over. Shurmur also won the final game of the 2015 season after Chip Kelly was fired by the Eagles. --New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said he will get the stitches removed from his injured right hand this week and claimed he will be fine for Super Bowl LII on Feb. 4 in Minneapolis. Brady played with a reported 10 or 12 stitches after he said his thumb got "bent back" in practice Wednesday, when he collided with running back Rex Burkhead on a handoff attempt. Brady added that he "definitely wasn't sure" Wednesday night if he was going to be able to play in the AFC Championship Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He did, completing 26 of 38 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter to Danny Amendola. --The Arizona Cardinals hired Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks as their new head coach. This will be the first NFL head coaching assignment for the 48-year-old. The Cardinals conducted a second interview with Wilks over the weekend and the team will introduce him at a Tuesday news conference. He will replace Bruce Arians, who retired after last season. Wilks also interviewed with the Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants in the offseason. --The Carolina Panthers moved quickly to fill their vacancy at defensive coordinator after Steve Wilks was name head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. The Panthers named defensive line coach Eric Washington as their new coordinator. He spent the previous seven seasons as Carolina's defensive line coach. According to the Charlotte Observer, management constructed a deal with him to keep him from leaving after his contract expired following the season. --The Tennessee Titans officially introduced new head coach Mike Vrabel, who said just making the playoffs is not the goal. Vrabel talked about building the team the right way with the "right 53 players." He pointed to the Patriots' way and said mistakes will be made -- once, but not twice. "Our players are going to be prepared and they're going to be fast and aggressive," he told reporters, adding that he can't wait to work with quarterback Marcus Mariota, whom he called a "special talent." --Jeremy Bates is expected to be elevated to offensive coordinator of the New York Jets. Bates, who served as quarterbacks coach last season, replaces John Morton, who was fired last week after one season as coordinator. Bates' coaching experience dates to 2002, when he was an assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He served as quarterbacks coach with the Chicago Bears in 2012 before taking four years off. --After being let go as the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Todd Haley is set to fill the same role for Cleveland. Haley is close to inking a deal to become the first offensive coordinator under Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson. When the deal is official, Haley is expected to assume play-calling responsibilities from Jackson. Jackson, who is 1-31 in two seasons, said he would turn those duties over to an experienced coordinator. --Even though he won't be wearing a New England uniform at Super Bowl LII on Feb. 4 in Minneapolis, there's little doubt who Jimmy Garoppolo wants to win. The current San Francisco quarterback and former Patriots quarterback already has earned a $79,000 bonus thanks to New England advancing past the AFC Championship Game. According to reports, Garoppolo could earn nearly $190,000 in bonuses if The Patriots win. --According to information released by the Philadelphia police department, there were six arrests in connection with the Eagles defeating the Vikings for the NFC championship on Sunday. Three of the arrests stemmed from people attempting to sell fraudulent tickets, two were for disorderly conduct and one person was arrested for assaulting a police officer. The assault took place during a bloody, pregame parking lot incident when a shirtless man with a bloodied face was arrested as mounted police arrived to restore order. --The Atlanta Falcons named Greg Knapp as their new quarterbacks coach, reuniting him with the team and head coach Dan Quinn. Knapp is taking over for Bush Hamdan, who left the Falcons to be the offensive coordinator at the University of Washington. Knapp was Atlanta's offensive coordinator from 2004-2006. He also worked with Quinn in Seattle and San Francisco. --Brady and Zach Ertz are unable to participate in the Pro Bowl because they will be preparing for the Super Bowl. Instead, Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten will go in their place as the NFL announced replacements for Sunday's Pro Bowl in Orlando, Fla. New England fullback James Develin was named a starter but will be replaced by Pittsburgh's Roosevelt Nix. Injured Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz was named as a starter but will be replaced by Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff. Other replacements for Super Bowl participants, include New Orleans guard Larry Warford for Philadelphia's Brandon Brooks, Atlanta safety Keanu Neal for Philadelphia's Malcolm Jenkins and Minnesota defensive tackle Linval Joseph for Fletcher Cox. --FOX, which has held the rights to the NFC since 1994, reportedly placed a bid for the rights to broadcast "Thursday Night Football," Sports Business Journal reported on Monday. The package had been shared by NBC and CBS the past two seasons, but the deal expired at the end of this season. NBC and CBS combined to pay $900 million in the previous two-year deal. According to the report, CBS and NBC are seeking to retain the package at a lower price despite losing money and seeing a waning interest from advertisers. --The Patriots pulled off another postseason comeback to reach their eighth Super Bowl of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era and Sunday's telecast generated huge ratings. The viewership was so high that not only was New England's 24-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars the highest rated game of the 2017 season, it also was the highest rated program since the Patriots rallied from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime in Super Bowl LI for their fifth title. Sunday's win drew an average overnight household rating of 27.3. In the Boston market the game earned a household rating of 50.1 to go along with a market share of 75, the highest market share for a Patriots game besides the Super Bowl in the last two seasons.