Bills Add Ex-Chiefs QB, Son of NFL Coach to Staff

Getty Kyle Shurmur appeared in a preseason game for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019.

As the Buffalo Bills restructure their coaching staff, general manager Brandon Beane has offered former NFL quarterback Kyle Shurmur his first-ever NFL coaching job.

Perhaps Shurmur was destined to coach, given that he’s the son of former Cleveland Browns and New York Giants coach Pat Shurmur. But it may come as a surprise that he’d switch from player to coach at such a young age (25) and that Shurmur, an ex-quarterback, would join the Bills as defensive quality coach, as reported by ESPN’s Field Yates on February 11.

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Shurmur never took a snap in an NFL regular season game. He starred for Vanderbilt University, playing in 44 games from 2015 to 2018, throwing 64 touchdowns and completing 722 passes for 8,865 yards. He went undrafted in 2019 before signing with the Kansas City Chiefs as a rookie free agent.

Shurmur, who is 6-foot-4 and 2 25 pounds, didn’t make the Chief’s 53-man roster but was on their practice squad when they won the 2020 Super Bowl. While Shurmur was re-signed in February 2020, he was eventually cut by Kansas City in April 2020.

GettyShurmur saw preseason action with the Bengals in 2021.

In December 2020, Shurmer joined the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad and was signed to a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. However, he was waived before the start of the regular season. In September 2021, Shurmur was signed to the Washington Football Team’s practice squad after starter Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. During a rampant breakout of COVID-19, a total of 26 players were in health and safety protocols, as reported by The Washington Post, Shurmur was elevated to the active roster for one game (Week 15), but he never took an official snap and was released on January 4.

Shurmur Was a Volunteer Coach at Vanderbilt

GettyShurmur played 44 games for Vanderbilt.

After he was cut by the Chiefs, and before he joined the Bengals, Shurmur returned to his alma mater in August 2020 as a volunteer assistant offensive quality coach, while also pursuing a master’s degree in finance.

“I just decided to apply for grad school – go to school and also help (Vandy football) while I’m in Nashville,” Shurmur told Sports Illustrated’s FanNation for an August 2020 story. “I had a great experience here during my four years and I wanted to come back to help.

“I’ll be doing as much as I can to take my experience from the (NFL) and then my experiences here at Vanderbilt and just helping out, giving some ideas and trying to assist the coaches and this whole team as much as I can,” he said.

Shurmur Said He Left Kansas City on Good Terms

While the drastic move to return to school after getting cut by the Chiefs could lead to the assumption that Shurmur left the franchise on bad terms, he explained to SI that it was quite the opposite:

(Kansas City) was obviously a first-class organization. Great team, great coaches top to bottom. It was a great experience. They have very high standards, they hold everybody to a high standard and they do things the right way. It doesn’t matter your role – I think everyone has a strong role there and no matter what string you were, whether it’s first or practice squad, or coaches whether you’re the head coach or an assistant coach, everybody is held to a very high standard. That ultimately led to a successful season and all the success they’ve had the past few years. I had a great experience and obviously we had a very successful year so it was a blast.

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