Shurmur soldiers on through a "unique week"

Pat Shurmur, the good soldier left to pick up the pieces and coach the Eagles through a meaningless final game Sunday at the Giants, said Thursday this has been "a unique week."

Shurmur, the offensive coordinator under Chip Kelly, now the interim coach, said he didn't know Kelly had been fired when team chairman Jeffrey Lurie summoned him to Lurie's office Tuesday afternoon. "It's not very often you get called down to the owner's office," Shurmur said.

Shurmur didn't indicate he would try to make drastic changes for the final game. Asked if he sees it as an audition for the head coaching job, Shurmur said his focus is on this week. "We all know change is in the air," he said. "We just have to talk about those decisions as we move forward."

Later, he said he considers "every day of my life" an audition.

"We started something in motion here. The players are used to doing things a certain way," Shurmur said. "There are many, many things we're doing that are right. We're going to try to keep it as business as usual as it can be in a very odd week."

Shurmur said he has spoken with Kelly. He described their relationship as "outstanding."

Shurmur said he told players that this Sunday, "it's very important to show respect for ourselves, for our teammates, for our organization, and for the game itself, to go out and try to fight tooth and nail to beat the Giants."

"I like to think that a lot of what we've done here is right," Shumur said, when asked if he will incorporate Kelly's ideas into what he tries to do as a coordinator or head coach in the future. "I think there's a good blend" in this offense between his ideas and Kelly's.

Shurmur said Sam Bradford "is an outstanding quarterback who can play in any scheme."

"We as coaches know" firings will happen, Shurmur said. "I think our families are used to it. When you get to this time of year, when change is made, we're sorta used to it."

"We didn't win enough games," Shurmur said, when asked how the Eagles' offense went from seeming on the cusp of greatness two years ago to where it is now. "We fell victim to the turnover. We fell victim to the dropped pass, and ultimately, we didn't score enough points. Those, in my mind, are all things that can be corrected, but I think the core of what we're trying to do is right, especially for our team."