Pat Shurmur Has a New Job in the College Ranks
Mike Zimmer hired Pat Shurmur as tight ends coach in 2016 to join offensive coordinator Norv Turner in his offensive coaching staff. Once Turner resigned, Shurmur took over as the OC and held the job for the remainder of the 2016 campaign and then in 2017 before he received the chance to become the head coach of the New York Giants.
Pat Shurmur Has a New Job in the College Ranks
Shurmur spent two seasons with the Giants and two more with the Broncos as OC. After the departure of Broncos head coach Vic Fangio in January of 2022, Shurmur also had to pack his bags and was without a job since.
Now, reports surfaced about Shurmur joining the coaching staff of NFL legend Deion Sanders at the University of Colorado as an offensive analyst, first reported by Carl Reed Jr. from 247sports: “Colorado will be looking for him to add to the culture they are establishing offensively. And to give the players another resource, in their pursuit of reaching the NFL,” Reed Jr. wrote on Twitter.
It will be the 58-year-old’s first job in college since 1998 when he was the offensive line coach at Stanford. He also worked at Michigan State in various positions from 1988 to 1997 where his coaching career began.
Shurmur had two chances as a head coach in the NFL with two disastrous teams. He coached the Cleveland Browns in 2011 and 2012 and later the Giants. The ex-Viking was also the interim head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015 before joining the Vikings’ staff. In all of those games, he had a record of 19-46. Most coaches would’ve struggled with the talent on those rosters.
His best work came undoubtedly in 2017 as OC in Zimmer’s staff. He was the engineer of the offense that helped the organization make its first trip to the NFC Championship game since 2009. Shurmur made the unexpected happen when quarterback Sam Bradford went down with a knee injury after the season opener and rookie running back Dalvin Cook also suffered a significant knee injury in Week 4.
It was veteran journeyman Case Keenum and the combination of Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon who kept the offense going behind an excellent offensive play caller. Shurmur formed a plan that included a balanced attack of running and passing attacks (and a brilliant screen game). He proved his feel for the game by mostly calling the right plays at the right time.
Zimmer often wasn’t happy with his OCs but Shurmur was a rare exception. The Vikings missed him after he left for the Giants. His successor John DeFilippo was fired after 13 games.
The 2017 Vikings offense ranked 10th in points scored, 11th in yards, 5th in DVOA, and 9th in EPA/Play. Shurmur helped Keenum and McKinnon to career years that got each of them paid in free agency. It will be interesting to see if the offensive mind makes a comeback in the NFL or qualifies for a more prominent role in the college ranks.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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