Former Vikings players react to the passing of Jerry Burns
By Adam Patrick
Former Minnesota Vikings head coach and longtime assistant Jerry Burns passed away on Wednesday at the age of 94.
From 1969 to 1976, the Minnesota Vikings were one of the most dominant teams in professional football, and they ended up earning a total of four trips to the Super Bowl.
Unfortunately, the Vikings were never able to come out on the winning side of these Super Bowl matchups. But the success of these Minnesota teams will forever be etched in the team’s long history.
In charge of the Vikings’ offense during this time period was a guy by the name of Jerry Burns. Minnesota finished with several top-five scoring offenses under the guidance of Burns, who wound up spending a total of 24 years with the franchise as both an assistant and a head coach.
Former Minnesota Vikings head coach Jerry Burns has passed away
On Wednesday, the Vikings revealed the sad news that Burns has passed away. The former Minnesota head coach was 94-years-old.
After 18 seasons as an assistant coach for the Vikings, Burns was finally given the opportunity to be the team’s head coach in 1986. He went on to remain Minnesota’s head coach for six years, and during his tenure, the team won 54.7 percent of their games, finished with a losing record just once, won three playoff games, and made it all the way to the NFC Championship in 1987.
Following the news of his passing on Wednesday, several former Vikings players shared some memories about their former coach.
Talked to ex-QB Tommy Kramer on the passing of ex-#Vikings head coach Jerry Burns at age 94: “I’m very sad to hear it but he had a good long life. And he was the funniest person that I’ve ever met, I’ll tell you that.”
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) May 12, 2021
Ex-#Vikings WR Ahmad Rashad on Jerry Burns offense: "Everybody was a receiver, everybody was involved, and it really worked because Chuck Foreman could do everything. And they don’t give Burnsie credit. He’d been running that West Coast Offense for years.’’
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) May 12, 2021
Ex-#Vikings RB Chuck Foreman on Jerry Burns:
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) May 12, 2021
“Bill Walsh got credit for Jerry Burns’ offense. That was our offense. That wasn’t (the 49ers) offense. We incorporated that to take advantage of my abilities as a receiver so we were throwing that way before the West Coast Offense.’’
HOF tackle Gary Zimmerman on Jerry Burns 2/2: "One funny story was at a Christmas party my wife was talking to Burnsie, and he says, ‘Your husband is the best in the business,’ and then he goes on and on. At the end, he goes, ‘What’s your husband’s name again?’’’
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) May 12, 2021
Burns was clearly loved by many of the guys who suited up for the Vikings during his tenure with the team.
Even though he made a bunch of people laugh during his coaching career, he also had a fiery side to him. This was never more obvious than during a 1989 post-game press conference when he went on an expletive-filled rant that was intended to defend Minnesota’s offensive coordinator at the time, Bob Schnelker.
Burns made a big impact on many people’s lives during his coaching career and he’ll always be remembered for his time with the Vikings as both an assistant and a head coach.