Getty Ex-Bears QB Henry Burris
Former Chicago Bears quarterback Henry Burris is going to be sticking around in the Windy City. Burris played for Chicago for a lone season in 2002, and he came back to the team as part of the Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellowship last year, joining the team in a part-time capacity. He must have impressed in his lone season as a coaching assistant, because he has been promoted to offensive quality control coach, as first reported by Field Yates of ESPN:
Some recent coaching hires:
🏈 Bears officially named former CFL star Henry Burris as their offensive QC coach (he spent 2020 on staff)
🏈 49ers hired Darryl Tapp as their assistant DL coach
🏈 Panthers hired former Baylor QB Garret McGuire as a coaching assistant
While his NFL career lasted only two seasons — he spent most of the 2001 season on the Green Bay Packers‘ practice squad before playing in six games for the Bears in 2002 — Burris went on to become one of the most decorated quarterbacks in Canadian Football League History. He won three Grey Cups, two Most Outstanding Player Awards, was a two-time Grey Cup MVP, and he also holds CFL records for single game (45) and single season (481) completions.
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Burris Will See Increased Role on Staff in 2021
GettyQB Henry Burris spent the 2002 season playing for the Chicago Bears. He’ll start his second season on the team’s coaching staff in 2021. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The former CFL standout recently revealed how his experience in Canada has helped him begin to carve a place for himself as a coach in the NFL.
“Everybody wants to know what we did in Canada. It’s crazy, because people want to implement and be the first to do this, and the first to do that. But a lot of people look to Canada, in terms of the CFL, in terms of the things we did. ‘How did you confuse the defense? What are some different types of concepts you ran that were able to get guys open versus different coverages?’ The thing is, it’s all the same stuff.” Burris said after the season ended, per NBC Sports, adding he’s seeing some of the more successful teams in the league incorporate some very familiar offensive strategies.
“You see teams like Kansas City and the Green Bay Packers, they run a lot of the CFL analogies. I’m thankful I was able to spend that time, because for me it’s hitting right at home,” he added.
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Matt Nagy Seems Pleased With Burris & His Contributions
Nagy, who spent time in the Arena League as a quarterback, lauded the contributions Burris made in just a part-time role last season. Now, his job has been expanded into a full-time one.
“With Henry, he has a lot of good ideas,” Nagy, said, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “For us he’s able to look at it from a quarterback’s perspective. Which is where I think will be a great for him to help out as well. He can bounce around and be in different rooms and give us an opinion as to where he’s at. We have a lot of respect for who he is and his experience in football and in general. So we will bounce him around. We can put him on different projects and have him maybe look ahead and help us out with future teams.”
How much of a role Burris will play in the team’s current quarterback search remains to be seen, but it’s clear Chicago likes what they have in the former signal caller.
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