Tag: Pat Shurmur

Pat Shurmur praises ‘tough’ Colorado center Hank Zilinskas

Hank Zilinskas’ loyalty hasn’t gone unnoticed

Hank Zilinskas’ loyalty to the Colorado Buffaloes football program hasn’t gone unnoticed.

A local product from Cherry Creek High School who committed to CU during the Karl Dorrell era, Zilinskas has hung tough and was even rewarded with considerable playing time as a true freshman last season. The 6-foot-3, 285-pound offensive lineman started at center in wins over Colorado State and Arizona State last fall when Van Wells hit the injured list.

Speaking with the media on Thursday, new full-time CU offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur acknowledged that Zilinskas’ willingness to stay put and compete isn’t seen often in college football anymore.

“It’s easy now for guys to just pull the ripcord and take off,” Shurmur said. “Hank was here a year ago and got some reps. Then, he watched this winter as we brought in like six guys around him. He didn’t say anything. He kept working, he was resilient and he was tough. He kept learning, kept developing and got bigger. He did all the things you want from a young man that we’ve developed, so credit to him. If we had to play a game tomorrow, he’d probably be the guy in there.”

As Shurmur mentioned, expect Zilinskas to run with the No. 1 offense during Saturday’s spring game.

Colorado’s annual Black and Gold spring football game will begin at 1 p.m. MT on the Pac-12 Network.

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Shedeur Sanders affirms ‘great relationship’ with offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur

Shedeur Sanders spoke on his relationship with offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur

Shedeur Sanders met with the media for the first time this spring on Wednesday and many things were said that caught the ears of Colorado football fans.

One of the most attention-grabbing quotes came when the senior quarterback was asked about newly promoted offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Shurmur, known for his NFL experience, joined Colorado’s staff last year as an offensive analyst before overtaking offensive play-calling duties from now-San Diego State head coach Sean Lewis late in the season.

While the change didn’t result in too much of a difference, Sanders and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders stayed by Shurmur’s side. Months later, it’s obvious that the feelings haven’t changed.

“He understands me as a person, I feel like that’s the main thing with anybody,” Shedeur said. “You got to have somebody that understands you, somebody that you don’t have to change or you don’t have to act any type of way… Coach Pat, we have a great relationship. He understands me, he accepts me for who I am. I feel like that’s the most important thing.”

Shedeur’s strong connection with Shurmur offers optimism that Colorado’s offense will be a more consistent unit throughout the Buffs’ first season back in the Big 12 Conference.

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Colorado football assistant coaches to make record amount in 2024

Colorado’s assistant coaches will be making a record amount this year

Deion Sanders’ coaching staff will look a little different entering his second season leading the Colorado Buffaloes.

Both of last year’s coordinators and multiple position coaches have moved on, and defensive coordinator Robert Livingston, O-line coach Phil Loadholt and wide receivers coach Jason Phillips are all new to Boulder. Pat Shurmur has been promoted to full-time offensive coordinator and defensive analyst Vincent Dancy will be coaching Colorado’s outside linebackers.

With that, Coach Prime’s 2024 staff will be the highest-paid in program history. According to BuffZone, Colorado’s 10 full-time assistant coaches will be paid a “combined $4.65 million in base and supplemental salary,” up from last year’s previous record amount of $4.59 million.

Here’s how much each of Colorado football’s new/promoted assistant coaches will be making in 2024:

What Colorado’s offense could look like under Pat Shurmur

Colorado’s offense will be led by coordinator Pat Shurmur next season

Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders announced numerous changes to his coaching staff on Friday and Pat Shurmur officially being named offensive coordinator was no surprise.

Shurmur has moved around quite a bit in his coaching career, spending time with several NFL teams, including the Denver Broncos. So, what can this NFL mind bring to Boulder? Midseason coaching changes are always hard to grade because wholesale changes can’t be made. After Shurmur took over play-calling duties late last season, Colorado still ran Sean Lewis’ system.

Passing-wise, Colorado will still likely lean on the short game while taking the occasional shot downfield. As quarterback Shedeur Sanders said on the DNVR Buffs Podcast, we’ll see fewer option routes, meaning CU’s wide receivers won’t have as much freedom to change their routes based on the opposing defense.

Another substantial change comes in the play-action game. Expect max protection/three-man routes off of play action that should get receivers downfield.

In the run game, Shurmur has traditionally attacked the edges using an outside zone running attack. In this attack, running backs must read their blocks to the outside or cut the ball inside if a lane presents itself. Colorado will almost certainly run the ball more next season, especially on first down, as this is a stable of Shurmur’s attack.

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Ex-Broncos OC Pat Shurmur expected to get OC job with Colorado Buffaloes

After losing Sean Lewis to San Diego State, the Colorado Buffaloes are expected to make Pat Shurmur their new offensive coordinator.

After losing offensive coordinator Sean Lewis to San Diego State for a head coach job, the Colorado Buffaloes are turning to a new offensive coordinator that Denver Broncos fans will recognize.

In an interview with USA TODAY‘s Brent Schrotenboer, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders said Pat Shurmur will “most likely” serve as CU’s offensive coordinator in 2024. Shurmur joined the Buffaloes’ staff last summer, initially as an analyst. He took over play-calling duties for Colorado’s final eight games of the 2023 season and he now appears poised to get the full-time gig next year.

Shurmur, 58, had head coach stints in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns (2011-2012) and New York Giants (2018-2019), posting an 18-46 win-loss record. (Shurmur also served as an interim coach with the Philadelphia Eagles for one game in 2015 and went 1-0.)

Before joining Colorado’s staff, Shurmur was the Broncos’ offensive coordinator from 2020-2021. Denver averaged 20.2 points per game in 2020 (fifth-worst) and 19.7 points per game in 2021 (10th-worst) before Shurmur was fired along with former head coach Vic Fangio.

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Pat Shurmur will ‘most likely’ become Colorado’s OC, Deion Sanders says

Pat Shurmur will “most likely” become Colorado’s next OC, according to Deion Sanders

The frontrunner for Colorado football’s vacant offensive coordinator position is now Pat Shurmur, according to head coach Deion Sanders.

In an interview with Brent Schrotenboer of USA TODAY Sports, Sanders was asked if Shurmur will become his OC next season. Coach Prime replied, “Yeah, most likely.”

Shurmur began the 2023 season as an offensive analyst for Coach Prime but took over play-calling duties from Sean Lewis about midway through the year. Under Shurmur’s direction, Colorado averaged 20.25 points in its final four games.

When Lewis left Colorado’s staff last week for the head job at San Diego State, many pinned former Tampa Bay Buccaneers OC Byron Leftwich as the top candidate for the job, but Shurmur now appears to be the favorite.

Before joining the Buffs’ staff in July, Shurmur had a rocky two-year stint as the Denver Broncos offensive coordinator from 2020-21.

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WATCH: Pat Shurmur speaks with Colorado players about improving team’s rushing attack

WATCH: Pat Shurmur made it clear to players that Colorado has to improve its rushing attack

There was plenty said about Colorado head coach Deion Sanders’ decision to give playcalling duties to former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Sean Lewis was previously calling plays before, but Shurmur took over for Saturday’s game against Oregon State.

Unfortunately, the offense didn’t do much in that game. The Buffs produced just 238 total yards and did little in the rushing department. They turned the ball over just once, but quarterback Shedeur Sanders was sacked four times in an underwhelming effort all around.

Earlier this week, Shurmur spoke to the team and emphasized the importance of developing a better ground game (h/t Well Off Media):

Sy’veon Wilkerson was the team’s leading rusher on Saturday with just 17 yards on four carries. The Buffs are currently averaging under 70 rushing yards per game while their passing offense is putting up an average of 320.6 yards, so they’ll need to find some balance moving forward.

It’s also an issue with the offensive line, and Coach Prime had a private meeting with that group just last week. Nonetheless, let’s see if Shurmur can turn around the Buffs’ struggling offense around this week against Arizona.

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Deion Sanders explains why he handed over offensive play-calling duties to Pat Shurmur

Deion Sanders opened up on his decision to give Pat Shurmur an increased role

Head coach Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes made some headlines prior to the Oregon State game when it was reported that Pat Shurmur would call offensive plays instead of coordinator Sean Lewis.

Shurmur has a lengthy resume, but the decision was made even more head-scratching when the Buffs struggled offensively against Oregon State on Saturday. The Buffs had just 238 yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was sacked four times in the game, and the rushing attack remained nonexistent.

All in all, it was another disappointing offensive performance. After the game, Coach Prime was asked about his decision to give Shurmur an increased role:

“We’re not going to demean Sean Lewis,” Deion Sanders said. “We’re not going to do that. We’re not going to take the tone. Sean is a good man. I think he’s a good playcaller. We just needed change at the time. We just needed to try something else at the time. And that’s what we did. I don’t look back on it. I don’t second-guess myself whatsoever because there’s more to it than what you may know. Let’s just trust the process.”

The offense has taken a giant step back, and this performance was not encouraging one bit. The Buffs have now lost three in a row and five of their last six games with the Arizona Wildcats now coming to town.

If the offense doesn’t improve soon, who knows what changes will happen next?

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Looking back at the coaching career of new Colorado co-offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur

Take a look back at the coaching career of Pat Shurmur

As the Colorado Buffaloes’ offense prepares to take on the No. 16 Oregon State Beavers, the unit will have a new voice calling plays. Offensive analyst Pat Shurmur has reportedly been asked to help Sean Lewis restart the Buffs’ once-explosive offense.

After playing a pivotal role on both sides of the ball for the Michigan State Spartans as a player, Shurmur jumped right into coaching in 1988 as a graduate assistant at MSU. He stayed in Lansing, coaching the Spartans’ tight ends, offensive line and special teams at various points until 1997. After spending one year at Stanford as an offensive line coach, Shurmur jumped to the NFL.

The Philadelphia Eagles were his first NFL stop. He coached TEs, the OL and QBs before getting his first crack as an offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams in 2009. His work with the Rams helped him get his first head coaching gig with the Cleveland Browns. Shurmur would be a head coach twice more, coaching on an interim basis for the Eagles in 2015 before leading the New York Giants from 2018-19. He also made a stop with the Minnesota Vikings from 2016-17.

His most recent NFL gig was here in the state of Colorado. He was the Denver Broncos offensive coordinator from 2020-21.

Take a photographic look back at Shurmur’s NFL coaching career:

Ex-Giants coach Pat Shurmur to call plays for Deion Sanders’ Colorado

Former Giants head coach Pat Shurmur has been elevated to call plays for Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes this weekend against Oregon State.

The Colorado Buffaloes have been in the news quite a bit since hiring former NFL standout defensive back Deion Sanders as their head coach. Sanders saw a lot of success at Jackson State in 2022 and joined the Pac-12 earlier this year.

After starting the season 3-0, Sanders’ team has struggled to win a game. Looking for the right change to boost his group of men, Sanders decided to elevate former New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur to call plays against Oregon State this weekend.

Shurmur was a head coach for three different NFL teams: two seasons with Cleveland, one game with Philadelphia (interim), and two with the Giants. He’s known to call plays as a head coach and spent time as an offensive coordinator in the NFL as well. His overall record is 19-46 as a head coach.

Shurmur’s college coaching experience includes seven years as the tight ends coach for Michigan State and one year as the offensive line coach for Stanford. He’s certainly gained experience since his college days, but the college game is vastly different today than it was in 1998, the last time he called plays there.

After all the hype surrounding Sanders’ move to Colorado and how well they started the season, Sanders is certainly looking for a way to return to the team’s earlier form. He hopes this will help, although that remains to be seen.

In order for Shurmur to call plays, Sanders had to make him a coach, which means one of Colorado’s assistants will have to be demoted for this week at least. It is unknown who that person will be at this time.

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