For the second time this week, the state of Colorado was able to keep a coveted coach out of the hands of the folks up in East Lansing.
Last week it was rumored that University of Colorado head coach Mel Tucker was a top candidate for the job opening at Michigan State, but he was quick to shut those rumors down.
https://twitter.com/Coach_mtucker/status/1226230203451465728
This week, one of the names to take Tucker’s place was none other than newly-acquired Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, who played quarterback for the Spartans from 1983-1987 and graduated from the school in 1988.
It sounds like Michigan State’s search will have to continue elsewhere though, as Shurmur is reportedly committed to the orange and blue over the white and green.
https://twitter.com/MikeKlis/status/1226954445608476672
Mike Klis’ report was given extra merit on Tuesday, when The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala also reported that Shurmur was too busy with the Broncos to pursue the Michigan State job.
Per source, new Broncos OC Pat Shurmur was on Michigan State's radar for its head-coaching job, but he is not pursuing it and is fully focused on the Broncos. He's been entrenched in meetings with the rest of his offensive coaching staff here.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) February 11, 2020
This should come as welcome news to Broncos fans, who are excited for the explosive offense Shurmur has promised to bring.
In his most recent stints as offensive coordinator, he made a Case Keenum-led Vikings team one of the league’s top-10 scoring offenses in 2017, and in 2015, Shurmur took a Sam Bradford-led Eagles team and transformed them into an offense that ranked in the top 13 in scoring and passing.
If he can transform two offenses quarterbacked by journeymen into high-powered attacks, there’s reason to have high hopes for what he could do with Drew Lock and Denver’s bevy of young offensive skill pieces.