Following Saturday’s loss to UCLA, Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders was asked what he thought of offensive coordinator Sean Lewis’ performance so far this season.
Sanders laughed a bit and then said, “You can’t put me on the spot like that. I think the coaches are doing a pretty good job. Thank you. That was a great try. Valiant effort. You’ve got to understand I’ve sat in your (media) seat for like 17, 18 years, so I kinda know when itap coming.”
The response gave a hint that Sanders wasn’t overly thrilled with Lewis and now Sanders is making an adjustment.
Per a BuffZone source, quality control analyst Pat Shurmur has been elevated to a co-offensive coordinator role with Lewis as the Buffs (4-4, 1-4 Pac-12) prepare to host No. 16 Oregon State (6-2, 3-2) on Saturday at Folsom Field (8 p.m., ESPN).
Shurmur, the former offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, will take over play-calling duties and assist with coaching the offensive line. He and Lewis will both have a role in play calling, according to a source. Shurmur will be in the coaches’ box, with Lewis signaling in plays from the sideline.
Brett McMurphy of Action Network was first to report Friday that Shurmur will take over the play calling.
For CU to make this move, Shurmur has to be shifted from his analyst role into one of the 10 full-time assistant coaching positions. Itap unclear whose spot Shurmur would take to make that move.
Itap a surprising change just eight games into Sanders’ first season as the head coach of the Buffaloes.
Lewis, 37, is in the first year of a three-year, $2.7 million contract that makes him the highest paid assistant coach in CU history, along with defensive coordinator Charles Kelly, who has a similar deal. Lewis spent the previous five seasons as head coach at Kent State.
Shurmur, 58, was hired this summer as an analyst for the Buffs. He was out of football in 2022 after being fired by the Broncos following a two-year stint as their offensive coordinator (2020-21).
Prior to his two seasons in Denver, Shurmur was the head coach of the New York Giants from 2018-19. His career also includes a two-year run (2011-12) as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and offensive coordinator jobs with the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams.
Shurmur’s last job as a college coach came in 1998, when he worked with the offensive line at Stanford. As an analyst, Shurmur has worked behind the scenes. Analysts are not allowed to work with players or wear headsets on the sidelines during games, but he has scouted opponents and offered advice and help to the staff throughout the season.
Offensively, CU has had a mixed bag of results this season.
The Buffs are tied for sixth in the Pac-12 with 32.1 points per game, on pace for the best scoring average by a CU team since 2001. They’ve reached the 40-point mark four times, already matching the number of 40-point games for the Buffs in the previous five seasons combined.
CU is ninth in the Pac-12 with 408.6 yards per game, on pace to be just the fifth time since 2001 that a Buffs team has averaged over 400 yards.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been one of the nation’s best passers, but the Buffs rank 131st nationally in rushing (78.63 yards per game) and 132nd in sacks allowed (42).
Since jumping to a 29-0 halftime lead against Stanford on Oct. 13 (a game CU lost 46-43 in double overtime), the Buffs have scored just three touchdowns and 30 total points in their last 21 possessions.
CU struggled last Saturday in a 28-16 loss to then-No. 23 UCLA (which moved up to No. 20 after the win), finishing with 242 yards, including just 24 on the ground. Shedeur Sanders was sacked seven times by a UCLA defense that has been the best in the Pac-12 this season.
