RIP Coach Burns

Bud Grant was the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings during my formative years as a football fan and as a Vikings fan. Grant’s stoic presence was a reassuring constant during those early years. As constant was the mad presence of the genius cooking up the Vikings offensive scheme. Jerry Burns. I always thought that he looked like an elf. It’d be wrong to think of him as Grant’s sidekick. The offense was his and I loved his offense. Fran Tarkenton, Chuck Foreman, John Gilliam, Ahmad Rashad, Sammy White. Oh my. Even Stu Voigt felt like a star in Burnsie’s offense. The fun of those Vikings days have been on my mind since I heard today of the sad passing of Jerry Burns at the age of 94.

Jerry Burns was the Vikings offensive coordinator from 1968-85. He was the team’s head coach from 1986-91. He should’ve been the head coach from 1984-91 as he should’ve been named the head coach the first time Bud Grant retired. But that’s a whole other story. The Les Steckel story. A very sad story. I always felt like the Vikings offense was in good hands when it was it in the hands of Burns. When it came to his head coaching days, I always felt that if Grant couldn’t be the head coach I wanted it to be Jerry Burns. Football felt fun when he was coaching it. His retirement after the 1991 season was sad for many reasons. The most significant being that he was the last remaining coach or player from my first day as a Vikings fan. A book was closed that day and I missed it immediately. 

Some words from those that knew Coach Burns:

The Wilf family issued the following statement:

"Jerry Burns was one of the most important people we met when we came to Minnesota, and 

he was a foundation of this franchise. His leadership as a coordinator and head coach for over 

two decades shaped some of the most successful teams in Vikings history. His love of life, 

quick smile and sense of humor were what we will remember most. We join Vikings fans 

worldwide in sending our prayers to his family."

***

Bud Grant issued the following statement:

"I met 'Burnsie' at Iowa when he picked me up from the airport when I was visiting down there, 

and from that point on, we started talking football and never stopped. We were on the same 

page a lot. When I went to Winnipeg, I'd have him come up as a guest coach. Our friendship 

grew over the years, and we became very close friends and so did our families.

"When I got the job in Minnesota, I talked to him about coming here, but he had a contract with 

Green Bay. The first year I was at the Vikings, I coached one guy short. I was holding the job 

for 'Burnsie' until he could come the next year. He was a very astute football mind. He could see 

things on the field immediately. He was as important to my career as anyone I've been involved 

with. His coaching help, friendship, loyalty, family — he brought everything to the Vikings he had. 

I'm gonna miss him."

***

Fran Tarkenton issued the following statement:

" 'Burnsie' made me laugh and made me smile even if he was 2,000 miles away. He made 

everybody smile. He was one of the most unique characters we've ever known, but it didn't 

hide his brilliance. I spent the last seven years of my career with 'Burnsie' and he saved my life.

"He was a brilliant, brilliant coach. He enabled me to be better than I was. We worked together 

so closely for so long and nobody ever had more fun doing it. We were laughing, yelling 

and screaming, but never had a cross word to each other. He had my total admiration. Without 

him, I would never have done what I did. He was critical to the success of the Vikings of that era. 

He was so important to our success. We had the partnership of partnerships and maintained 

that relationship long after football."

***

Current Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer issued the following statement:

"From the day I started with the Vikings, Jerry Burns was a great friend and someone I loved 

spending time with. He had a unique outlook on the game, and I learned something every 

time we talked. The football world lost a great one today."

***

Rest In Peace Coach