Jerry Burns
- Thread starter morley10
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Sorry to hear that. He didn't find much success as the head coach at Iowa after taking over for Evy. When his stint at Iowa came to an end Vince Lombardi invited Jerry to join his staff in Green Bay. From there he would go on to become the head coach of the Vikings. RIP Coach.
Great guy. Testimony as to the risk of changing coaches. He inherited the preseason no 1 at Iowa and never had a winning season at Iowa-after being considered among the best young coaches in the country.
Heard Jerry at a seminar way back in the early 90s. Hilarious on the stump. Talked about Iowa in the warmest terms.
Heard Jerry at a seminar way back in the early 90s. Hilarious on the stump. Talked about Iowa in the warmest terms.
I will agree that Jerry was a very nice guy and knew football. However, he could not get it together at Iowa. I had tickets in the West stands the year he decided to coach from the press box. He would be on the field for warm-ups and then jog up the stands for the game. Let's just say that fans did not make the jog very pleasant for him.
Burnsie was some kind of character. I bumped into him several times at Lifetime Fitness up here...most recently about 2 years ago. He was as sharp and fiesty as ever.
His Vikings post-game conference from about 1990 was one of the greatest moments in sports. Right there with Mora's "Playoffs?" rant.
Its was a classic! For those who haven’t seen it, YouTube! Completely uncensored
Make sure you watch it to the end. His answer to Pat Ruesse’s question caps it off perfectly.
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RIP Coach Burns
He'll always be the Vikings coach to me, nearly got them to a Super Bowl my first year as a fan. None of his successors have gotten any further either. Wasn't until much later that I ever knew about his Iowa coaching career or Packers SB history.
He'll always be the Vikings coach to me, nearly got them to a Super Bowl my first year as a fan. None of his successors have gotten any further either. Wasn't until much later that I ever knew about his Iowa coaching career or Packers SB history.
Jerrys big problem was Evy wanted to be the big name and wouldn't let him recruit very much outside the state of Iowa and cut the recruiting budget. This was a disaster that took the university almost 20 years to recover.
Jerry was a great offensive coordinator for Evy and for Bud Grant with the Vikings. He did pretty well during his 5 year stint as head coach of the Vikings, making the playoffs 3 times. He did have one winning season at Iowa , going 5-4 in 1961. The Hawkeyes were ranked # 1 to start the 1961 season, and opened the season with 4 straight victories before things went south. He was a highly respected coach .
Douglas C. Neidermeyer
HR Legend
This. Evy pretty much sabotaged Burns from the start. Evy was a bit of a control freak and not in a good way like Alvarez at Wisconsin. If Evy would have given Burns the support and freedom Evy had as coach who knows where Iowa football would have gone. Could have built one hell of a dynasty.
He would get crucified for this in today's world. Him and Ditka would have been good on a staff together.
Has to be a record for the number of F bombs dropped by a coach at a post game news conference.
That is crazy. Doubtful any other team can say that. Maybe some high school programs.
Yep, 1961 until Hayden's first Rose Bowl team in 1981- 20 years. I do believe Ray Nagel had a .500 team in the late 1960s.
Can't watch the video without thinking of Luther from Coach, minus the expletives of course.
I know a guy who was on that team, but had forgotten that Burnsie would have been his coach. I'll have to get the player's perspective on him.
You're right. Good catch. Although, going 5-4 when you're the pre-season number 1 provides little about which to crow.
We can also have sympathy for owners/management at the Vikings dismembering good team and its future to get Hershel Walker. Worst trade in the history of sport and it was inflicted on Jerry. Good company man did not bitch once in public. There aren't many guys left like that anymore.
Yes, but what great first game with Walker that was!
Jerry Burns, former Vikings coach, dies at 94
He spent nearly a quarter-century with the Vikings.
www.startribune.com
