Fritz Shurmur
Encyclopedia
Leonard Frank “Fritz” Shurmur (July 15, 1932 – August 30, 1999) was an American football
coach who served as head coach
of the University of Wyoming
Cowboys
from 1971 to 1974. He also served as the defensive coordinator
for the National Football League
's Green Bay Packers
from 1994
to 1998
.
along with his parents and his brother, Joseph.
Shurmur's father was a factory worker for 49 years in the suburbs of Detroit
. Shurmur's parents twice refinanced the family home so Fritz and his brother could have opportunities to attend Albion College
.
at Theodore Roosevelt High School
in Wyandotte. Upon completion of high school, he attended and played college football
at Albion College
in Albion, Michigan
. At Albion, Shurmur played center
where he earned All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
(MIAA) honors, and was named the conference's most valuable player. As a complement to football, Shurmur also played baseball
at Albion, where he earned all-conference honors.
as a defensive coach. He served on the coaching staff in this capacity until 1970. Following the 1970 season, he was promoted to the Cowboys' head coach and served through four seasons, amassing a record of 15-29.
. He coached for the Detroit Lions
, New England Patriots
, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals
, Green Bay Packers
and Seattle Seahawks
. For nineteen of those years he was a defensive coordinator.
Shurmur became defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers in 1994. In 1997
, the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI
over the New England Patriots. Shurmur left Green Bay in 1999
to be defensive coordinator with the Seahawks when Mike Holmgren
accepted the dual roles of head coach and general manager with Seattle.
Throughout his coaching career, Shurmur was widely known as an innovative mind on defense. Shurmur's coaching style was revered by peers in his profession for defensive genius. For example, in 1992 with the Cardinals, Shurmur had to devise a plan when two linebacker
s were injured. He developed a "Big Nickel" defense, that used five defensive back
s close enough to the line of scrimmage to rush the passer or drop back into coverage.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach who served as head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
Cowboys
Wyoming Cowboys football
The Wyoming Cowboys are a college football team that represents the University of Wyoming. They compete in the Mountain West Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I. The team has won 15 conference titles...
from 1971 to 1974. He also served as the defensive coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
for the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
from 1994
1994 NFL season
The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
to 1998
1998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
.
Early life
Shurmur was nicknamed Fritz as a baby, after his grandfather's cocker spaniel. He grew up in Wyandotte, MichiganWyandotte, Michigan
Wyandotte is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,883 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 7.6% from 2000. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and is part of the collection of communities known as...
along with his parents and his brother, Joseph.
Shurmur's father was a factory worker for 49 years in the suburbs of Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. Shurmur's parents twice refinanced the family home so Fritz and his brother could have opportunities to attend Albion College
Albion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college located in Albion, Michigan. Related to the United Methodist Church, it was founded in 1835 and was the first private college in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. It has a student population of about 1500.The school's sports teams are...
.
Playing career
Shurmur started playing football in high schoolHigh school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
at Theodore Roosevelt High School
Theodore Roosevelt High School (Wyandotte)
for schools of the same nameTheodore Roosevelt High School, also known as RHS or Roosevelt, or also Wyandotte High by alumni, is the secondary school in Wyandotte, Michigan. Established in 1923, RHS is the only public high school in the city of Wyandotte. Its mascot is the Bear, with athletic...
in Wyandotte. Upon completion of high school, he attended and played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Albion College
Albion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college located in Albion, Michigan. Related to the United Methodist Church, it was founded in 1835 and was the first private college in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. It has a student population of about 1500.The school's sports teams are...
in Albion, Michigan
Albion, Michigan
Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The population was 9,144 at the 2000 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. At Albion, Shurmur played center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
where he earned All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association is an athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The nine teams in the conference are all located in the states of Michigan and Indiana. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association was established on March 24, 1888, making...
(MIAA) honors, and was named the conference's most valuable player. As a complement to football, Shurmur also played baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
at Albion, where he earned all-conference honors.
Coaching beginnings
Shurmur started his coaching career when he became a graduate assistant in 1954, under Albion head coach Morley Fraser. After receiving his master's degree in education administration in 1956, Shurmur stayed at Albion as a defensive coordinator. In 1962, Shurmur accepted a job at the University of WyomingUniversity of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
as a defensive coach. He served on the coaching staff in this capacity until 1970. Following the 1970 season, he was promoted to the Cowboys' head coach and served through four seasons, amassing a record of 15-29.
NFL coaching career
From 1975 to 1998, Shurmur was a defensive coach in the National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He coached for the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
and Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
. For nineteen of those years he was a defensive coordinator.
Shurmur became defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers in 1994. In 1997
1997 NFL season
The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
, the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI
Super Bowl XXXI
Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game played on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1996 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American...
over the New England Patriots. Shurmur left Green Bay in 1999
1999 NFL season
The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season...
to be defensive coordinator with the Seahawks when Mike Holmgren
Mike Holmgren
Michael George Holmgren is a former professional football coach and current President of the Cleveland Browns. He served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 1998, and the Seattle Seahawks from 1999 to 2008...
accepted the dual roles of head coach and general manager with Seattle.
Throughout his coaching career, Shurmur was widely known as an innovative mind on defense. Shurmur's coaching style was revered by peers in his profession for defensive genius. For example, in 1992 with the Cardinals, Shurmur had to devise a plan when two linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
s were injured. He developed a "Big Nickel" defense, that used five defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
s close enough to the line of scrimmage to rush the passer or drop back into coverage.