Colorado confronts its Pat Shurmur problem

Mason LeBeau
Nov 11
4 min read

Colorado Buffaloes Pat Shurmur offensive coordinator Deion Sanders Julian Lewis quarterback Shedeur Sanders — *Colorado Buffaloes offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur fell into old, ugly trends in 2025, leading to coach Deion Sanders revoking many of his responsibilities. (Photo by Tyler King/Denver Gazette)*

Coach Deion Sanders often shows a strong loyalty to his guys. That loyalty has been tested in a lost season, as the Colorado Buffaloes sit at 3-6 (1-5 Big 12), desperate for answers on either side of the ball. In a season meant for building a foundation, the offense has failed to find any identity. That problem falls squarely on offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.

2025 was expected to be somewhat of a down or in-between year following the losses of quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman-winning wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter.

However, expectations were higher than usual from CU, which has struggled mightily on offense. A quarterback controversy has seen three different signal callers extensively play, leading to a lack of cohesion in the offense. The numbers speak for themselves:

95th in points per game (22.0)
97th in total first downs (159)
104th in yards per game (329.8)
117th in sacks allowed per game (2.8) despite being 79th in passing play rate (47.32%)

Coach Prime appears to have taken notice. Last Tuesday, USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer reported that Sanders quietly took away offensive play-calling duties from Shurmur, relegating him to quarterbacks coach as of the Arizona game.

Without him, it went no better as Colorado fell 52-17, but more importantly, it led to true freshman quarterback Julian Lewis’s first official start.

Lewis looked better the following game against West Virginia, but Colorado hasn’t had many issues with other lowly teams this year. CU fell to the 3-6 Mountaineers, 29-22, but with a bowl game out of reach, Lewis’s development takes precedent.

The last time Coach Prime took away play-calling responsibility mid-season, it was to promote Shurmur into that role. It does seem like a sign of the inevitable, but Sanders can’t rest on his laurels and let the lack of quality quarterback play excuse Shurmur. He also can’t afford to make the same mistake should he depart.

Why Shurmur was Hired

Shurmur was initially brought in to give Colorado a more pro-style offense. He had spent more than 22 seasons in the NFL, with most of that time as an offensive coordinator.

Shurmur’s first full season in control of the offense went quite well on the surface, as Shedeur Sanders had a fantastic year: 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 74% of completions. A prolific spread passing attack made way for Hunter’s career year and resulted in four total receivers making it to the NFL.

However, a few systemic issues persisted. The run was entirely abandoned, and Colorado finished 134th out of 134 teams in rushing yards per game. This was 12 yards per game fewer than 133rd-ranked Kent State. As such, the Buffs had no form of ball or clock control, ranking 110th in time of possession. Furthermore, slow starts plagued them, rendering the offense one-dimensional.

These shortcomings are not Shurmur’s fault alone, but where a younger coordinator may get some grace, over a decade of evidence of his systemic issues exist from his time in the NFL. Common complaints from several fanbases kept popping up: Unimaginative play design and poor clock management.

Shurmur in the NFL

(via Marty Gitlin, CBSSports, 2012)

Shurmur has had two short stints as a head coach in his career, both lasting two years. His time spent between the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants resulted in a 19-46 record and two quick firings.

Credit where it’s due, a common thread mentioned from Browns fans and Giants fans nearly eight years apart was that Shurmur never lost the locker room, even in consecutive down seasons.

However, his prowess as an offensive architect never translated to the field. Just four games into his tenure with the Giants, a frustrated wide receiver in Odell Beckham Jr. sounded off to the media.

“It seems like it shouldn’t be this hard, but it is,” he said, referring to the offense stalling out. “You work too hard - five, six, seven days a week, for 60 minutes of football. So I hate to go out there and waste those 60 minutes.”

Beckham was rarely an even-keel player, but the idea of “wasting” time as an offense is quite the admonishment.

(via Steve Servy, NYPost, 2019)

Giants co-owner John Mara would later say that it was a “gut instinct” to fire Shumur after just two seasons. Shurmur would return the following season to just overseeing the offense for the Denver Broncos, where more of the same would continue.

Should he be let go following this season at CU, it’ll match his two-year tenures in Denver, New York, Minnesota, Cleveland, and St. Louis.

(via Sayre Bedinger, PredominantlyOrange, 2022)

Going Foward

Shurmur’s arrival in Colorado was already contentious among local fans of the Buffs and Broncos. There was some hope that his experience at a higher level could translate to the college game. While Shedeur Sanders did find success in their one full season together, the underlying issues did little to quell the worries of fans.

Now, it appears that the Shurmur hiring will be a negative mark on the Deion Sanders era. While former offensive coordinator Sean Lewis is thriving at San Diego State, it’ll be up to Sanders to make his third hire at the position in four years.

With the development of Lewis at stake, fans can only hope that Sanders will go more towards an exciting young hire, as opposed to the “safe” retread option. Either way, 2025 will be a season to forget.