NFL’s Chicago Bears keeping former CFL star Burris on coaching staff

The Chicago Bears will keep former CFL star Henry Burris on their coaching staff this season.

Burris joined the Chicago staff for training camp as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. On Thursday, Jeff Jorniak, the team’s play-by-play announcer, tweeted Bears head coach Matt Nagy announced that Burris would remain with the club as a “seasonal” coach.

Burris, 45, spent the 2002 campaign as a quarterback with the Bears. The native of native of Spiro, Okla., was named a first-ballot selection into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in July.

The six-foot-one, 190-pound Burris played 20 pro seasons, 18 in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders (1997-99, 2005-11), Saskatchewan Roughriders (2000, 2003-04), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2012-13) and Ottawa Redblacks (2014-16).

Burris also spent time in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers (2001).

He appeared in five Grey Cups, winning three (1998, ’08, ’16) and being named the MVP twice (2008, ’16). The CFL’s most outstanding player on two occasions (2010, 2015), Burris amassed 63,639 career passing yards and 373 TD passes — both third all-time.

Burris retired shortly after leading Ottawa to a thrilling 39-33 overtime Grey Cup upset win over Calgary in Toronto in 2016. He threw for 461 yards and three TDs despite suffering a knee injury during warmups.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 3, 2020.  

The Canadian Press