Jeffrey Lamar Burris (born June 6, 1972) is an American football coach and former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame, and was a consensus All-American. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 1994 NFL draft, and he played professionally for the Bills, Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL.
Early years
Burris was born in Rock Hill, South Carolina.[2] He graduated from Northwestern High School in Rock Hill,[3] where he played for the Northwestern Trojans high school football team.
College career
While attending the University of Notre Dame, Burris played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team from 1990 to 1993. He was the Irish's primary running back in their goal line jumbo package, rushing for 167 yards on 29 carries and 10 touchdowns and catching one pass for 3 yards and a touchdown. As a senior in 1993, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American as a defensive back.
Professional career
The Buffalo Bills selected Burris in the first round (27th pick overall) of the 1994 NFL Draft.[4] He played for the Bills from 1994 to 1997.[5]
In his ten-year career, Burris played in 144 regular season games, started 119 of them, compiling 529 tackles, and 19 interceptions for 302 return yards and two touchdowns.[5]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 1994 | BUF | 16 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0.0 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | BUF | 9 | 9 | 34 | 28 | 6 | 0.0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | BUF | 15 | 15 | 50 | 41 | 9 | 0.0 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | BUF | 14 | 14 | 45 | 39 | 6 | 0.0 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | IND | 14 | 14 | 68 | 57 | 11 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | IND | 16 | 16 | 84 | 68 | 16 | 2.0 | 2 | 83 | 0 | 55 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | IND | 16 | 16 | 77 | 69 | 8 | 3.0 | 4 | 38 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | IND | 15 | 15 | 58 | 54 | 4 | 0.0 | 3 | 69 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | CIN | 16 | 13 | 64 | 52 | 12 | 0.0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 0 |
| 2003 | CIN | 13 | 8 | 40 | 36 | 4 | 0.0 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 144 | 120 | 536 | 457 | 79 | 5.0 | 19 | 302 | 2 | 55 | 3 | 4 | 32 | 0 | ||
Playoffs
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 1996 | BUF | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 38 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | IND | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | IND | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0.0 | 1 | 38 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Coaching career
Burris began his coaching career in 2007 at Fishers High School in Fishers, IN, where he helped work on the technique of cornerbacks and safeties as well as installing a defensive scheme.
Burris joined the United Football League’s Sacramento Mountain Lions as the defensive backs coach in 2011, hired by former Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green. Burris stayed with the Mountain Lions through their 2011 campaign, finishing with a 2–3 record.
On March 5, 2012, Burris was announced as the cornerbacks coach for the UMass Minutemen, working under new head coach Charley Molnar. He coached the Minutemen for the 2012 season.
In 2013 it was announced that Burris would become the assistant defensive backs coach and defensive quality control coach for the Miami Dolphins. Burris was the assistant defensive backs coach/defensive quality control coach for the Miami Dolphins. On October 8, 2015, Jeff Burris was promoted to assistant defensive backs coach for the Dolphins.
On June 3, 2016, Burris was hired as a defensive analyst for his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame.[6][6]
After leaving his alma mater, Burris spent the 2017 season coaching defensive backs at the Northern Iowa.
In the spring of 2018, Burris was hired by Skip Holtz as the Cornerbacks Coach at Louisiana Tech.
On February 7, 2025, the New York Giants hired Burris to serve as their cornerbacks coach.[7]
References
- ^ "Jeff Burris". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- ^ National Football League, Historical Players, Jeff Burris. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
- ^ databaseFootball.com, Players, Jeff Burris[usurped]. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
- ^ "1994 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ a b Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Jeff Burris. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
- ^ a b Former Irish All-American Jeff Burris Hired As Defensive Analyst
- ^ "Former Notre Dame All-American Lands Coaching Job with New York Giants". si.com. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
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