A big part of New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur’s will be his relationship with Odell Beckham Jr. Shurmur took an important step in that relationship as he revealed that he spoke to an ‘inspired'-sounding OBJ for the first time over the weekend, per NJ.com’s Ryan Dunleavy.

“I've already spoken to him,” Shurmur told ESPN's Golic and Wingo show on Monday morning. “Obviously we can talk about, ‘Hey, how's it going? Nice to meet you” stuff. But, in talking to him, he sounds inspired to get ready to have a really good year, so I'm looking forward to that.”

Shurmur also explained why he didn’t reach out to the star wideout sooner than he did when he had already spoken to quarterback Eli Manning.

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“I sort of did that for a reason,” Shurmur told NJ Advance Media. “The quarterback is different. I did that for a reason because if you think about it, how would you feel if you were a player and the head coach called this guy, but didn't call me?

“That's an example of something I maybe learned from my first go-round. I want to talk to all of them. Right now, they're in their offseason mode. In due time.”

Shurmur’s appointment has certainly done something to inspire Beckham. He had previously tweeted that he was “geeked” upon rumors that Shurmur would likely be headed to New York to be his new head coach. That should bode well for the new boss to have the support and enthusiasm of the star player right off the bat.

Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of the budding relationship between the two. But at least it’s gotten off on a positive note and they can begin to build from there.