Gen Z players, mountain air and return to his roots have given Colorado's Pat Shurmur a new outlook

Updated Aug. 2, 2024 6:51 p.m. ET

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BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Maybe it's the mountain air. Maybe it's being around all Gen Zs. Or being away from the NFL meatgrinder.

Pat Shurmur said he feels rejuvenated as he prepares for his first season as Colorado's offensive coordinator, where he's in charge of building an offense around star QB Shedeur Sanders, the son of Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders.

He's designing a dynamic playbook that features more downfield action than he was accustomed to during his nearly quarter-century working in the NFL ranks, which included head coaching stints with the Browns, Eagles and Giants.

Shurmur has a better backfield than his predecessor, Sean Lewis, led by Ohio State transfer Dallan Hayden, and a beefed-up offensive line featuring the kind of behemoths the Buffs trust will keep Shedeur Sanders upright and lead them to a breakout season and a bowl game in 2024.

Shurmur is entering his 35th year of coaching but his first at the college level since tutoring Stanford's offensive line in 1998.

“Shoot, I feel 20 years younger working with these young people,” Shurmur said Friday. “... This has been fun for me working with these young players. I've got a new fresh perspective.”

Shurmur got a taste of it when he took over as the Buffs’ play-caller for the final month of last season, when he was promoted from offensive analyst to co-offensive coordinator.

“I felt a couple of those games we had a chance to win,” Shurmur said. “But last year was just kind of finishing up something. I think Coach make the point sometimes it's hard to cook in somebody else's kitchen because you can't really change anything, at that point your team is pretty set.”

Now he's cooking up his own creations.

“We were able to kind of reset it the way we wanted to," Shurmur said. "And the guys went out and got us some new players. We felt like we needed to go get more quality big men and then we install an offense that works for us. And I feel like it's a new start.”

For both the Buffs and himself.

Before Shurmur's arrival in Boulder last year, the Buffaloes spent their fall camp going back to basics because so many holdovers had transferred following the spring game.

“I can't imagine. That was a tough scenario,” Shurmur said, noting the continuity and chemistry this year.

Now that camp is here, “we're allowed to give them more messages,” Shurmur said. "We had a message yesterday about if you want to change something about your life, you've got to change something, you know? I think we can all relate to that.

“My message today was, ‘Hey guys, it’s never going to get any better than this.' You've got a car to drive, a few bucks in your pocket, nice place to stay. You're doing exactly what you want in life. In a beautiful setting. With a lot of very talented people."

From a practicality standpoint, Shurmur said the big changes he's working on are building a better ground game and protecting the quarterback.

“I like to call it commonsense football,” Shurmur said.

His demeanor outside the Buffaloes' training complex Friday stood in stark contrast to his two seasons he spent as Vic Fangio's offensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos, who went 12-21 in 2020-21, leading to both of their firings on Jan. 9, 2022.

After that, Shurmur spent more than a year away from football before Deion Sanders summoned him back to Colorado, and time has certainly polished the rough edges from his last NFL gig.

“We had made great strides at the Broncos. We were close,” he said. “Teddy (Bridgewater) was 7-4 as a starter, he ended up getting hurt. We had a chance at some point. We had a team that was on offense very young, right? With a young quarterback coming in at the end, Drew (Lock). ... Unfortunately, we fell a little bit short. But it's kind of the way it is in that league.

“But a fresh start? For sure. I mean, I was able to go back and evaluate for myself the things over the years that worked, the things that didn't,” Shurmur said. “I think that's the advantage of experience. I mean, who knew that the journey would take me back to college?"

Shurmur never was one to have such philosophical exchanges with the media while with the Broncos, but he appears to be loving life in the Rockies right now.

“I think we all grow, right? Everybody writes better stories, do better podcasts, everybody gets better as they go through life, right?” Shurmur said. “And that's part of the journey, and I'm just very thankful that I have a chance to do it here."

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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