Kyle Shurmur lands back at Vanderbilt as volunteer assistant coach

Former Chiefs QB Kyle Shurmur lands back at Vanderbilt as volunteer assistant coach.

Former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Kyle Shurmur has decided to return to his alma mater of Vanderbilt University to start his coaching career—or at the very least, to help out in this season of his life as a volunteer assistant coach.

Shurmur told reporters that he decided to go back for graduate work at Vandy and said he wanted to give back during his time in Nashville. Given what he knows about being a long-term starter in the SEC.

"“I’ll be doing as much as I can to take my experience from the (NFL) and then my experiences here at Vanderbilt and just helping out, giving some ideas and trying to assist the coaches and this whole team as much as I can,” Shurmur said."

Shurmur, the son of former New York Giants head coach and new Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, was a developmental signing with the Chiefs last year. He signed as a priority free agent after going unselected in the 2019 NFL Draft. However, he ended up beating out former Marshall quarterback Chase Litton for the chance to serve as the team’s third quarterback—although one who would never actually see the field.

When the Chiefs actually needed a third quarterback, after injuries were suffered by both starter Patrick Mahomes and backup Chad Henne, they ended up turning to street free agent Matt Moore over promoting Shurmur into the role given his lack of experience. Still, Shurmur did spend the year moving between the team’s practice squad and the active roster.

The Chiefs looked like they were interested in Shurmur as a long-term play when they signed him to a reserve/futures deal back in February after their Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers. However, he was released after the Chiefs signed quarterback Jordan Ta’amu after his stint in the XFL (and after the Chiefs came away from the draft without making any further investments at the position).

Shurmur doesn’t sound like a player spurned by his release. Instead, he has nothing but respect and praise for the organization that took him in for a year.  “(Kansas City) was obviously a first-class organization. Great team, great coaches top to bottom. It was a great experience,” Shurmur said.