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A scary sight unfolded at New York Giants minicamp practice on Tuesday. During a scorching hot summer day in East Rutherford, running backs coach Burton Burns appeared to collapse on the football field due to heat exhaustion.
Numerous team reporters were on deck to watch the frightening moment unfold, including New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard who provided both context and a positive update on the situation.
“Scary moment here today: Giants RB coach Burton Burns went down in the heat, required medical attention. Was lifted onto cart, shirtless, driven off field. Walked to an ambulance under his own power,” Leonard Tweeted. “Giants say he had heat exhaustion and is going to be OK.”
Per Leonard, co-owner John Mara, general manager Dave Gettleman and assistant general manager Kevin Abrams all “showed concern” for the coach, later noting that “Gettleman followed the cart all the way inside to make sure Burns was alright.”
While the temperature at today’s practice hovered around 90 degrees, the high humidity pushed the heat index to a feels-like temperature close to triple digits.
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Burns Helped Build a Powerhouse at Alabama
Burns, 68, joined the Giants’ staff one season ago, after a decade of coaching running backs at the University of Alabama. During his time in Tuscaloosa, Burns earned five BCS National Championships, while helping the Crimson Tide firmly establish themselves as the modern-day “Running Back U.”
Burns coached both Mark Ingram and Derrick Henry to Heisman Trophy campaigns while with Alabama. Other notable running backs to come through Tuscaloosa during Burns’ stint with the team include 2011 Doak Walker award winner Trent Richardson, Las Vegas Raiders duo Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake, and New Orleans Saints star Alvin Kamara (transferred to Hutchinson Community College after one season).
When news of Burns joining Big Blue’s staff initially emerged back in January of 2020, Ingram took to Twitter to inform Giants running back Saquon Barkley how “blessed” he was to have such an exceptional position coach.
Ingram’s statement becomes even more telling when you take into consideration that he’s been coached by the likes of Nick Saban, Sean Payton, and John Harbaugh over his career — some of the most well-respected coaches of all time.
Barkley Credits Burns
Earlier this year, Barkley joined the Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson podcast, where the former NFL Rookie of the year credited Burns for helping guide him through a dark phase after tearing his ACL.
“When I hurt my knee, I’m not going to lie, that’s probably the weakest moment of my life, especially in those first few days,” Barkley admitted. “I just couldn’t control myself crying, asking, ‘Why me? Why me? Why me?'”
“On that third day, it just hit, and it was just like, ‘So what, now what?’ This is a saying that coach Burns is always telling me,” Barkley recalled. “It happened, so, like you [Tyson] said, adversity makes the weak weaker and makes the strong stronger. You have to pick and choose what side you want to be on.”
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