Colorado head coach Deion Sanders may have settled on his offensive coordinator for next year.
In an , Sanders was asked if Pat Shurmur would be the Buffaloes’ offensive coordinator next season and said, “Yeah, most likely.”
Shurmur, a long-time NFL coach, was hired by Sanders as an analyst last summer. Eight games into this season, Sanders made the decision to promote Shurmur to a co-offensive coordinator role with Sean Lewis and handed the play-calling duties to Shurmur.
Sanders also told USA Today that his son, Buffs’ starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, is “OK” and should be healthy by the spring after missing the last game and a half with a fracture in his back, as well as an ankle injury.
With the transfer portal opening on Monday, Sanders also told USA Today that the Buffs (4-8, 1-8 Pac-12) are looking for “older quarterbacks” to come to Boulder as backups in case something happens to Shedeur again. He said he’s looking for multiple quarterbacks from the transfer portal.
The Buffs also currently have Ryan Staub, who will be a true sophomore and played well in his only start of the season, at Utah in the finale on Nov. 25.
As for the coordinator position, Shurmur is a logical choice after finishing the season in that role. Lewis is no longer with the Buffs, as he took the head coaching job at San Diego State last week. Sanders told USA Today that he’s happy for Lewis.
“Coach Lewis came with the intention of having a great year and leaving,” Sanders said. “Thatap what it was. … Thatap what the plan was, and the plan was executed. Nothing has transpired that has caught us off guard. Not one thing.”
Sanders hinted that Shurmur would be the OC after the Buffs’ 23-17 loss at Utah. He said after the game that there would be “a few” changes to the staff, but when asked if that would include offensive coordinator, he said, “I don’t know about that one.”
Following the Utah game, Sanders also spoke highly of Shurmur when he said, “Pat and I communicate really well. Pat and Sean communicated really well. Pat and Shedeur communicate really well. So I think he did a great job. I really did.”
With Lewis calling plays during the first eight games, the Buffs averaged 32.1 points and 408.6 yards per game. But, they had also sputtered throughout his last six quarters as play caller.
Shurmur called plays the last four games and the Buffs averaged 20.3 points and 273.5 yards per game. In Shurmur’s second game as play-caller, though, the Buffs had 31 points and 339 yards in nearly upsetting then-No. 23 Arizona.
Early in the next game, Shedeur was injured and didn’t play at all in the final game and a half.
Prior to being hired by Coach Prime this summer, Shurmur’s most recent job was as the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos from 2020-21.
From 1999-21, Shurmur coached 22 seasons in the NFL. He was head coach of the New York Giants (2018-19) and Cleveland Browns (2011-12) and also had coordinator stints with the Broncos, Minnesota Vikings (2016-17), Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15) and St. Louis Rams (2009-10).
With the Eagles, Shurmur’s offense ranked fourth in the NFL scoring in 2013, third in 2014 and 13th in 2015. In 2017, his Vikings offense ranked 10th in scoring and he was named the NFL assistant coach of the year.
Sanders was also asked by USA Today if Shedeur and his other son, junior safety Shilo Sanders, would be back next season for their final years of eligibility.
“I would think so,” Sanders laughed. “They’re my sons. I would pray so. … Itap always been our dream that they’re going into the (NFL) draft together, and we didn’t know how that would manifest itself with (the COVID-19 pandemic) and everything. It just so happened properly that they’re going in the same draft at the conclusion of next season.”
Notable
On Monday, former CU edge coach Nick Williams announced that he will be the new defensive ends coach at Syracuse. … Also on Monday, the East Village Times, which covers San Diego State, reported that Buffs’ offensive line coach Bill O’Boyle will follow Lewis to SDSU. Lewis and O’Boyle worked together for five years at Kent State before coming to Boulder together this year.
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