Fox News Flash top headlines for Dec. 30
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The New York Giants have parted ways with head coach Pat Shurmur after another disappointing season.
The coach, who was only two years into a five-year contract, was let go Monday after meeting with the team's owners.
“This morning, we made the very difficult decision that it would be in the best interest of the franchise that we relieve Pat of his duties," team president John Mara said in a statement. "Pat has been a successful and highly-respected NFL coach for 21 years and he is not solely responsible for our record. But we came to the conclusion it is best to have a fresh start with the coaching staff."
New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur, center, leaves the field Sunday following the team's defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants finished 4-12 on the season. (AP)
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The firing came hours after the Giants suffered a 34-17 home defeat to the rival Philadelphia Eagles, which handed the latter team the NFC East division title and a spot in the NFL Playoffs. Under two seasons with Shurmur, the Giants were just 9-23 and never won more than five games in either campaign.
At one point during this current season, the Giants lost nine straight games.
Mara said he and chairman Steve Tisch, as owners, “take full responsibility for our recent poor record."
"It is our goal to consistently deliver high-quality football and we will do everything in our power to see that there is a rapid and substantial turnaround," Mara added.
He noted that the search for a new coach will be "extensive" and will start immediately.
"We've had three losing years in a row and, quite frankly, we have lost some standing as an organization," Mara said. "When you have three losing years in a row as we have, you face a lot of criticism. A lot of it is deserved. It's up to us now to turn that around and get back to where I think we should be.”
Shurmur has become the second head coach to be fired following the conclusion of the 2019 NFL regular season. The Cleveland Browns fired head coach Freddie Kitchens Sunday night.
Shurmur has not spoken publicly since his firing.
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“If I’m back, I’m looking forward to working with this young talent,’’ the New York Post quoted Shurmur as telling reporters Sunday following the Giants' Week 17 loss. “If I’m not, whoever’s coaching this team has got a great group of young players, the dead money goes away, there’s going to be cap space, we got picks so there [are] ways to improve the team."
"That’s about as honest and clear as I can make it," he added.
Fox News' Lucia I. Suarez Sang contributed to this report.