Fritz Shurmur '54 '56G Guided Defenses With Innovation, Enthusiasm, and Love

FRITZ SHURMUR FELT embarrassed.

He did not want to be seen in such a vulnerable and agonizing state.

The veteran, 25-year defensive coach and one of the greatest coordinators in NFL history was surrounded with the people he cherished most inside a room at St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, Wis. — his endearing wife, Peggy, and their three children.

Peggy ensured they would be there during that late July afternoon in 1999.

For the previous two months, they and hundreds of others in the city and around the country were trying to process what was happening to their father, husband, coworker, friend and coach.

In May 1999, the Albion College graduate was diagnosed with esophageal cancer after first experiencing discomfort in January. He was starting the journey of his sixth NFL stop with the Seattle Seahawks after Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren took the helm and brought his trusted defensive coordinator with him.

Shurmur knew something was wrong with his body but refused to tell Peggy. That offseason, he was living with four other coaches in the Pacific Northwest, acclimating to a new landscape and challenge.

He wanted to return to Green Bay for treatment, where he was woven into the fabric of the NFL’s smallest city.

Many knew his days were waning.

As his family sat with Shurmur on his hospital bed, the door to the room swung open. A parade of Packers players filed in – some who had been with him all five years of his tenure with the team. They each said their goodbyes one by one, as a unique individual approached the bed.

One of them, Brett Favre, the fun-loving and charismatic three-time NFL MVP quarterback grabbed Fritz’s hand for a moment.

Favre and Shurmur had a special relationship. They challenged each other in competitive yet friendly battles during practices that made each other better. Their people-friendly personalities meshed well, always with high energy.

He looked Shurmur dead in the eye and uttered, ‘I love you.’

“As long as I live, I’ll never forget that,” Fritz’s daughter, Sally Ann, said. “That was really emotional.”

It was a fitting snapshot that encapsulated what it meant to be around Shurmur. He was someone who treated everyone with genuine sincerity and respect.

In a profession that demands an exorbitant amount of time and focus, Shurmur always put players and others above himself while selflessly sharing his knowledge of fundamentals of the game as an innovator.

Those are just some of the many reasons that made him such a special and beloved coach in his nearly half century across all levels of football.

IT WAS SIMPLE in size but great in stature.

The two-bedroom, 910 square-foot home that hugged the sidewalk on East Eighth Street in Wyandotte, Mich., a half hour south of Detroit, is where Shurmur’s parents Len and Katie raised him and his two siblings. Sister, Bernice, and brother, Joe, would slowly arrive over the course of the decade.

Born in nearby Riverview on July 15, 1932, Len and Katie moved baby Leonard to the house shortly after his birth. The nickname Fritz followed as well, an ode to his grandfather’s cocker spaniel dog.

They did not have much, but what the family possessed was plenty of love.

Len and Katie came from hard-scrabbled, working-class Polish families. For 45 years, Len worked as a factory worker at Wyandotte Chemical on the shores of the Detroit River.

During Prohibition, Len and his uncle would often smuggle whiskey from nearby Canada, rowing out to pick up bottles floating on bobbers in the river, waiting for their customers to take.

Katie ran the house with an iron fist. Len and the children listened to whatever she told them to do. She was organized and clean with the scent of her pink peony flowers filling the air. And her rules would always win the day. 

Both sides of the extended family were large. Fritz soaked in every moment he had with them in the many basement gatherings they had with each other.

“He was raised around family, and everything he learned was from his parents,” Sally Ann said. “It was a life that you would see in a sitcom on TV.”

When Fritz was around 8 years old, some neighborhood fathers created a sandlot nearby where he would play with friends. It was there where he started to develop a liking for all kinds of sports.

By the time he graduated from Wyandotte’s Roosevelt High School in 1950, he had lettered in football, basketball, baseball and rowing.

Roosevelt was also where Fritz met Peggy, his future wife of nearly 40 years. She was a year older than he was and he would sometimes ask her to help him with geometry homework. It was the class they shared together. 

Peggy was very attractive and intelligent. Many boys sought her out, even visiting her house. 

Of all the boys, Peggy chose Fritz. They soon developed an all-encompassing, 360-degree bond with each other that would serve as a foundation for the rest of their lives.

“When her and my father were getting really serious, she went home and told her mother she thought she found the one,” Sally Ann said. “She just said, ‘Well, which one is it?’ [Peggy] had them all on the line for a long time, and Fritz was the lucky winner.”

Shurmur was a standout football player. He guided Roosevelt to an undefeated record and No. 3 ranking in the state as a senior. He was also an exceptional baseball player. The St. Louis Cardinals discovered his talent, offering him a small contract to play in their minor league system.

He also had an opportunity from Albion to play both sports for $50 a semester. The school helped him make ends meet by giving him a job as an elevator operator at a hotel in town. As a bonus, meals were provided.

But after talking it over with Katie, he realized college could help him reach his full potential.

“It was a big deal for a kid like him from Wyandotte to go to college at the time,” Sally Ann said. 

FROM THE TIME Shurmur arrived at Albion, it was obvious he belonged.

Shurmur earned four letters in both football and baseball, and received All-MIAA honors in both sports as a senior.

His peers admired his leadership off the field, electing him as the treasurer of the ‘A’ Club composed of Albion letterwinners. They selected him as the student representative on the MIAA Board of Directors during his senior year.

He also served as class president and head of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

“I think the Albion environment opened his eyes to what else life could be and what other paths one could take in life,” Shurmur’s son, Scott, said.

It was football where Shurmur excelled the most.

He shined in multiple positions for coach Del Anderson, playing as a 188-pound lineman on both sides of the ball as an underclassman under the NCAA’s one-platoon rule, which heavily limited substitutions in those days.

As a junior in 1952, the ruling changed to allow two-platoon football where players could substitute freely and stick to one side of the ball. He primarily played linebacker and according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot, “was indirectly responsible for setting up six Albion touchdowns during the season with his pass interceptions and fumble recoveries.”

He even returned an interception 25 yards in the third quarter of a key victory against Hope that propelled the Britons to a MIAA title that season.

His senior year in 1953 was one of the greatest in Albion history. 

The NCAA went back to one-platoon football in 1953, and Shurmur switched over to playing center on offense while keeping his linebacker position on defense. He saw over 55 minutes of action per game.

Known as “the deadliest blocker in the MIAA,” Shurmur was the only player on the All-MIAA team to be a unanimous selection while being named MIAA MVP — the third consecutive Briton to earn the honor (Albion Hall of Famers Frank Joranko in 1951 and Bob Wikstrom in 1952). Shurmur was also the team’s captain. His performance also earned him a spot on the Associated Press Little All-America team.

After graduating with a physical education degree in 1954, Shurmur and teammate Cedric Dempsey — who later served as executive director of the NCAA — decided to pursue post-graduate degrees in education. 

They were both hired on as assistant coaches under new head coach Morley Fraser. Shurmur was the line coach and graduate assistant. Dempsey was the ends coach. Elkin Isaac, who served as a pilot in World War II before returning to coach at his alma mater, was the backfield coach.

“He was his No. 1 mentor,” Sally Ann said of Isaac. “They developed a deep friendship that lasted through their entire lives.”

All four men were later inducted into the Albion Athletics Hall of Fame.

A year into his coaching career, Shurmur married Peggy. They had loyally dated all throughout college even when she had contracted tuberculosis while in nurses training in Detroit. Her illness kept her in the hospital for nine months.

They married over winter break, and their honeymoon was ice fishing at Houghton Lake in northern Michigan.

“[Peggy] mostly stayed in the cabin and took naps,” Sally Ann recalled. “It was all they could afford.”

Shurmur wore many hats at Albion. Along with his football coaching duties, he served as the head swimming & diving coach despite never having participated in the sport before while also assisting with the baseball team.

Later, he carried even a fuller load as an assistant professor of physical education and dean of men.

“He credited Albion for making him much more of an erudite person than he had ever been or would have been otherwise,” Scott said.

To earn a few extra bucks, Shurmur even worked as a high school basketball referee traveling across the state of Michigan officiating games which helped the family afford to have their first child, Sally Ann.

Scott was born two years later, and daughter Susie followed four years after.

Once Shurmur graduated with his master’s in 1956, he was promoted to defensive coordinator. He kept the role until 1961.

Shurmur developed the foundation of his defensive line coaching techniques while Albion consistently fielded strong and agile defensive units despite their small size. They led the Britons to three MIAA titles in the final four seasons at his alma mater. 

It culminated in 1961. Albion notched their first undefeated season in 33 years and allowed just 69.5 yards per game on the ground.

“He became much more of a thinker at Albion,” Scott said. “He was always pretty self-deprecating and wasn't self-aggrandizing. He was very focused and would really grind until he found solutions.”

What also made that year special was he coached Joe. His younger brother earned conference MVP honors just like his older brother.

“They were very close,” Sally Ann said. “Even though they were nine years apart, he really looked upon his little brother as a second father figure.”

“He didn't want to show favorites,” Pat Shurmur, Joe’s son and former NFL head coach, said. “He was hard on him, which probably was good for him and helped him.”

Developing a reputation as a tremendous teacher and speaker, Fritz was never afraid to speak at coaching clinics. He traveled around the state sharing his knowledge of defensive football with anyone who would listen.

These clinics were part of how he formed a great coaching network that would lead him to future positions and elevate his career.

LLOYD EATON REMEMBERED Fritz as a hard-nosed player.

It was one of the characteristics he wanted to instill in his defensive line at the University of Wyoming after being promoted to head coach in 1962.

From 1957-61 as the Cowboys’ defensive line coach, Eaton’s unit ranked top 10 nationally in total defense in three of those five seasons. 

He needed someone with the same zeal for devastating defense as he had, and he did not have to look far to find his match.

Eaton had been the head coach at Alma College while Shurmur was an All-American and at the genesis of his coaching career.

His detail-oriented approach and ability to create havoc with smaller defensive linemen fit what Eaton wanted.

Shurmur saw it as an opportunity to advance his career. So, he moved the family out to Laramie in the spring of that year.

He continued to develop more defensive line techniques, even writing an article about the subject in the Athletic Journal magazine.

By 1966, Wyoming had the No. 1 defensive line in the country and proceeded to go on a historic tear.

Implementing an innovative 5-2 defense with five defensive linemen and two linebackers, the Cowboys only allowed 38.5 rushing yards per game (a Western Athletic Conference record) and just two scores on the ground en route to a victory over Florida State in the Sun Bowl. It is still the seventh-best rushing defense in FBS history.

A 10-1 record and No. 6 ranking in the AP poll followed in 1967, with their only blemish being a narrow Sugar Bowl loss to LSU.

The defense continued its domination by leading the country with just 42.3 rushing yards given up per game.

Alabama (1938, 1945) and Texas A&M (1939, 1940) are the only other schools with two seasons of 45 yards rushing allowed or lower per game in FBS history.

A third straight WAC title in 1968 culminated with a defense that topped the country in yards per game (206.8), while the Cowboys had a top two rushing defense the following season.

It was in 1969 when there was a drastic shift in the program.

The week Wyoming played BYU, 14 African American players went into Eaton’s office and asked if they could wear black armbands in protest of the Mormon church’s racial views.

Without hearing their side of the story, Eaton subsequently cut them from the team which caused a major uproar in a scandal that became known as the Black 14.

Known as a tough, demanding and somewhat unapproachable coach at the time, Shurmur showed a soft side during a team meeting when Eaton announced the players’ dismissal.

“He was at the front of the room quietly with tears in his eyes,” Scott said. “He knew it wasn’t the right thing to do and the future would be difficult for a lot of those guys.

“He thought it was just grossly unfair.”

The program won one game the following season, and Eaton retired.

Shurmur was the natural replacement for Eaton. He was now recognized as one of the country’s top defensive line specialists.

“I know I will miss coaching, but I also know the Wyoming football program is in the charge of one of the finest young coaches in the nation,” Eaton said following his retirement.

Still marred by the Black 14 scandal, the program never fully recovered and Shurmur was fired after a 15-29 record in four seasons as head coach.

The technician and innovator was looking for a new home. His journey would lead him to where it all began.

DOUG ENGLISH’S HEAD was spinning.

The Detroit Lions’ second-round pick in 1975 was adjusting to life outside his home state of Texas.

The Midwest culture, the weather and a new 4-3 defensive scheme predicated on stopping the pass all made the rookie feel overwhelmed.

He needed a coach who could help ease the transition and make him feel at home.

Fritz Shurmur proved to be the perfect match.

After Wyoming fired him, Shurmur had two coaching offers. He could either join the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League or the Lions defensive line coach for his friend, head coach Rick Forzano.

Detroit was the better fit. And now, he had the chance to coach at the highest level in the area where his family’s roots were implanted.

“Going back home to family with the aunts and uncles and cousins, that was really good for them,” Sally Ann said about Fritz and Peggy. “It was a great introduction to the NFL.”

English remembered how skeptical he and veteran players were when they first encountered Shurmur because of his inexperience in coaching at the professional level.

There were instances where Shurmur would want to do things a certain way, but the players would step in and explain why they could not be done in the NFL.

“Instead of getting mad or trying to impose his will, he learned and adjusted,” English said. “He was just so devoted, so caring and so focused. He was on a mission and was a very inspiring man to play for.”

Other players also quickly realized how special of a coach Shurmur was.

He drilled them on fundamentals and mechanics, mastering the art of the split second between when the ball is snapped and when the initial point of contact is made on the line.

Shurmur often demonstrated techniques in drawings on a blackboard. And he would even show players how to properly perform certain skills on people who were walking down the hallways of the Lions headquarters at the newly built Pontiac Silverdome.

He backed it up with the valuable knowledge he instilled while being sincere and caring. He gained the trust from players, a hallmark that would stick with him for the rest of his coaching career.

“His veins would stick out in his neck,” English said. “He was just so enthusiastic about the game and teaching it. He knew so much, and it was exactly what I needed to be introduced to what I was going to be seeing in the NFL.”

Forzano and Tommy Hudspeth – the Lions’ head coach from 1976-77 – quietly established elite coaching staffs in Shurmur’s three seasons on their staffs, with four future NFL head coaches in Jerry Glanville, Raymond Berry, Joe Bugel and a young assistant looking to catch on in the league named Bill Belichick.

Belichick was a meticulous note taker who soaked up everything he could learn, especially from the defense who finished in the top eight in total defense every season Shurmur was with the Lions.

“That's all he did was take notes and pay attention,” English said of Belichick. “If somebody tried to chat with him, he wasn't for talking.”

English went on to earn All-Pro honors four times after Shurmur left and was named to the Lions’ All-Time Team in 2019. 

“He gave me that foundation that made me comfortable and made me believe that I could compete at the NFL level,” English said. “He was the perfect coach for me at the perfect time. I thank God that I had Fritz Shurmur.”

FOLLOWING THE 1977 season, Shurmur was on the move again.

The Lions dismissed Hudspeth and his entire staff following a lackluster 6-8 campaign and seventh straight year without making the playoffs.

Hank Bullough, who had taken over as defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots in 1978, hired Shurmur to be his defensive line coach. They became close when Bullough coached at Michigan State.

While in New England, Shurmur learned the basics of the 3-4 defense from Bullough, a flexible alignment where the four linebackers can be used as both pass rushers and coverage players.

Bullough was considered one of the finest defensive coaches of his era. Shurmur’s son, Scott, believed him to be his father’s biggest coaching mentor in the NFL.

In his two seasons as defensive line coach, Shurmur’s unit helped the Patriots allow just 3.6 yards per carry to opposing rushers, which was top eight in the league both years.

New England also unofficially led the NFL in sacks with 57 in 1979 (sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until 1982).

Shurmur took over as defensive coordinator in 1980 after Bullough left for the Cincinnati Bengals.

His linebackers coach starting that season was Bill Parcells.

Parcells was the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator the year prior before he resigned six games into the season. He moved back out to Colorado where his family was still situated after his one-year stint as head coach at Air Force. The future Pro Football Hall of Fame coach took a job at a land development company before realizing how much he missed coaching.

Landing a job on Shurmur’s defensive staff as linebackers coach allowed for Parcells to expand his knowledge of the 3-4 and two-gap defense, where players are responsible for both sides of an offensive blocker.

Parcells and Belichick installed this defense that led them to two Super Bowl victories in the following decade after Belichick became Parcells’ defensive coordinator with the Giants.

Steve Nelson was a staple of those Patriot defenses coached by Shurmur. A hard-nosed linebacker who later had his No. 57 retired by the franchise, Nelson had the greatest season of his career the year Shurmur and Parcells worked together.

In his seventh season playing for the Patriots, Nelson earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time after totaling 186 tackles and three interceptions.

“They were just really career changing coaches for me,” Nelson said. “I learned so much from both of them that season. Fritz leaned on Bill’s experience and knowledge when making decisions and they really got along well. 

“They knew how hard each other worked and had mutual respect for each other.”

Nelson especially bonded with Shurmur. They were close even away from the facility, living near each other in Norfolk, Mass., just 10 minutes from Foxborough Stadium.

From a football perspective, Nelson remembered Shurmur for being very principled and disciplined. When Shurmur addressed the defense at his first team meeting as coordinator, he told them he would never be late for a meeting and expected the same from them.

Players arrived 5-10 minutes early, and Shurmur was always true to his word and on time.

“When you play with guy like that, you just don't want to fail him,” Nelson said. “You just want to do your best for the whole team to succeed. 

“I think a lot of the players on the team had the same feeling that Fritz was in your corner and he was doing everything he could to get us ready to play and to win. We respected that.”

Shurmur was never one to command respect, though. Rather, he earned it from his players with his willingness to listen and go through the battle just like they did.

He also earned it by always sharing how they could improve when mistakes were made.

“He always knew that even if we played poorly that we never wanted to let him down,” Nelson said. 

Nelson learned about Shurmur on a personal level. They frequently visited one another in the offseason and would occasionally go fishing together.

They even swept each other’s chimneys every year.

“He’d probably be the best neighbor you’d ever have,” Nelson said. “That’s the type of person he was. He would be there all the time, and you could always count on him.

“Guys like that make real differences with people.”

Shurmur made an additional difference with Nelson in the way they connected on the field.

As the middle linebacker and leader of the defense, Nelson was responsible for relaying Shurmur’s calls to the rest of the unit.

That player-to-coach trust was honed in during the hours of practices and meetings with top-notch communication. Shurmur taught Nelson how to prepare, always pointing out every possible play the offense might throw at the defense.

The day before each game, both would meet to review what the defense practiced during the week.

“He made the game really fun for me,” Nelson said. “I was really excited to play, because I was learning every day. He wanted to hear what the players thought and was always on top of things. Players just really bought into the whole thing, because he was so sincere with no surprises.

“We practiced well, and it just gave me a good feeling that we were prepared to play.”

It was refreshing for the veteran to have a coach he could relate to so well. He understood everything he taught, which ultimately allowed Shurmur to keep feeding Nelson more information and responsibility — something Nelson thinks helped extend his playing career. Shurmur also knew how to connect with players and was always honest. 

Their respect for him grew even further as a result.

In an era where player individuality was becoming more popularized, Shurmur stressed the importance of team play through fundamentals and playing together.

“That made the game more fun,” Nelson said. “You felt that you were a part of something bigger than yourself. It was a team, and I think a lot of players felt that way.  When you have a lot of players feeling that way, you're going to have success.”

The Patriots’ defensive success continued even after the 1981 season, Shurmur’s last with the team. Keeping much of his same terminology and concepts with the new coaching staff, New England eventually made its first Super Bowl in 1985 behind Nelson and a unit that upset Dan Marino’s 15-1 Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship.

“[Fritz] knew the whole defense so well that there was never a question of what he was doing wasn’t the right thing,” Nelson said. “He was a truly remarkable guy. When coaches care about you, they correct you and they tell you what you’re doing wrong. You have to understand they’re doing it to help you out and not to get thin-skinned. 

“It was the best years that I played, and the direct reason was because of Fritz.”

A SIMPLISTIC MAN was headed to a sophisticated city.

After the Patriots dismissed the entire staff, the Los Angeles Rams hired Shurmur as their defensive line coach on Ray Malavasi’s staff in 1982.

In a strike-shortened season that ended with a 2-7 record, the Rams relieved Malavasi of his duties but they retained Shurmur as an assistant on John Robinson’s staff. Robinson was widely regarded as one the top coaches in the college ranks, winning four Rose Bowls with USC.

Shurmur then became the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach during Robinson’s first season in 1983.

Running the same 3-4 defense as he had in New England, the Rams moved from 27th to 15th in total defense that year. 

Shurmur also struck up a friendship with special teams coach Gil Haskell. They coached together for his entire stint with the Rams and all but one season with the Packers.

Shurmur and Haskell were both from similar backgrounds and values. They played college football at smaller schools (Haskell for San Francisco State), coached at lower levels and were family men. Naturally, they related well to each other.

“He had a great ability to get along with everybody,” Haskell said. “He was a very, very smart man, and he had a great ability to let people talk and explain themselves. He wasn't yelling all the time or telling people what to do. If they had a problem, they could come to him and you could fix it up.”

Living in the same Diamond Bar, Calif., neighborhood, they developed a routine of driving to LAX airport together on Saturdays when the Rams had a road game the next day. It always began with a quick workout at Cal State-Fullerton (where the Rams trained at the time) and then a stop at a corner food stand where they would each get a hot dog, Coke and chips for $1 before their hour-long trek to LAX.

“He thought that [meal deal] was the greatest thing in the world,” Haskell said with a laugh.

Haskell treasured those rides to and from the airport with his good friend.

“We talked about everything,” Haskell remembered. “We got a lot of problems done there. It was just like two friends talking about work.”

The ground game defined the Rams in the mid-1980’s, with Eric Dickerson setting the single-season NFL record with 2,105 rushing yards in 1984 that still stands today.

Shurmur’s defenses were often overlooked on these Rams teams that made the playoffs six times in his eight seasons as defensive coordinator with two trips to the NFL Championship.

The unit ranked in the NFL’s top 10 in rushing defense five times, total defense three times and scoring twice during that stretch, with seven defenders making the Pro Bowl.

In 1985, the Rams made the NFC title game behind a defense ranked fourth in rushing and scoring. They also shut out the Dallas Cowboys 20-0 in the NFC Divisional round, the Cowboys’ first blanking in their 36 all-time postseason games.

It was in the later part of the decade where Shurmur got to show his uncanny ability to adjust and innovate that truly made him one of the league’s greatest defensive coordinators of all-time.

KEVIN GREENE WAS eager.

The Rams’ fifth-round NFL Draft selection in 1985 wanted any opportunity for playing time in Shurmur’s defense.

He was entering his fourth season with the team and had primarily been a key component on Haskell’s special teams units and a backup outside linebacker.

“He was the physical tackler or the physical blocker [on special teams],” Haskell said. “When I sent in a [kick or punt] return, I’d run it to his side.”

But Greene, who walked on at Auburn while being in the ROTC and later a captain in the Army Reserves, wanted to be a contributor on the defensive side of the ball.

In Shurmur’s traditional 3-4 defense, the job of the outside linebacker was to rush the passer while also dropping back into pass coverage in certain packages. 

“[Greene] could rush the passer, but he couldn’t pass cover for crap,” Robinson said in 2016.

After a dismal 1987 campaign in which the Rams ranked an uncharacteristic bottom third of the league in total defense, Shurmur knew he needed to change up the defense’s pass rush scheme.

It led to the birth of his famed Eagle defense that changed the trajectory of Greene’s career.

Shurmur’s Eagle defense utilized a five-man front and turned Greene into a full-time pass rusher without any assignments to drop into pass coverage, which ran counter to Shurmur’s schematic tendencies.

By having five players on the line, it created opportunities for other linebackers and defensive backs to blitz, which took advantage of Greene’s instincts and linear speed to create confusion for offenses.

During the first season Shurmur implemented the defense in 1988, Greene registered 16.5 sacks which was second in the league only to 13-time Pro Bowler and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White’s 20.

Over the next two seasons, Greene combined for 29.5 sacks and became one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers. He earned his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro nod in 1989.

After leaving the Rams following the 1992 season, Greene totaled six double-digit sack campaigns in his final seven years in the league, which ultimately helped lead to his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

“[Robinson and Shurmur] put me in a position to affect games, and I did,” Greene said during his Hall of Fame speech.

Shurmur’s brilliance was once again on display during the 1989 season. 

An injury-depleted Rams defense forced him to improvise. His solution was to mainly use linebackers as down linemen because of a slew of injuries at the position until the 10th game of the season when they became healthy.

It produced a year in which the unit finished fifth in rushing, totaled 42 sacks and won two postseason games en route to an appearance in Shurmur’s second AFC Championship game.

Perhaps the defense’s finest hour was their performance in the Wild Card playoff game against Randall Cunningham and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Cunningham was a quarterback ahead of his time, utilizing his strong arm and dangerous legs to terrorize the opposition.

He was the hottest quarterback entering the playoffs that season. However, Shurmur had a plan to stifle Cunningham.

Playing a five-linebacker, six defensive back defense, Shurmur kept Cunningham from escaping the pocket and played almost exclusively a zone defense the entire game. It forced errant throws by Cunningham while Shurmur chose to sacrifice size up front with speed and quickness on the back end.

They limited the eventual Pro Bowler to just 39 yards on the ground and no scores through the air in the 21-7 victory.

“That was the first maybe major innovation that got him quite a bit of attention,” Scott said.

Scott also remembered his father’s time with the Rams as one where they bonded about football. 

Oftentimes while Fritz was coaching at the collegiate level, he felt like he missed out on the childhoods of his three children due to the offseason demands of recruiting that made it truly a 24/7 job.

Once he got to the NFL and his children grew, Fritz allowed himself to bond especially with Scott through the sport he put his heart and soul into. It made up for lost time.

“He liked the pure football aspect of the pros, and he did feel like it gave him much more time to be around and with the family.” Scott said.

Scott played football at the University of Tulsa and later attended medical school in Boston when Fritz was with the Rams. While his father never got to see him play live, Scott would fly to Rams games whenever he could get a free weekend. 

He had free access around the team, being able to sit in team meetings and in the press box with assistant coaches during games. Scott would always ask his father questions. Shurmur was always tolerant and patient with his son’s interest, even allowing them to watch game film together.

“We really bonded over football at that point,” Scott remembered. “It brought us closer together, and I was really flattered. That was a precious time in my life.”

Occasionally, Fritz would even ask him how a member of his defense played or something that happened on a particular play.

“I was flattered that he thought I was up to that and valued my opinion,” Scott said.

Scott remembered seeing his father’s greatness in action during those team meetings with how well he related to players and made sure they understood his concepts. 

He also never said anything to embarrass players or deflect blame but instead owned up to his own shortcomings.

“He was quick to say, ‘Maybe this wasn't the [right] call, and I'd like to have that one back.’” Scott said.

“[Players] would just run through a wall for him, because they knew how much he cared about them and had their backs. That was one of his really unique gifts.”

Despite his innovations and players’ respect for him, Shurmur’s time with the Rams came to an unfortunate end after he was fired following a 5-11 campaign in 1990.

As a new decade began, he found himself zeroing in on perhaps the finest chapter in his football life.

IT WAS A shocking announcement.

Just weeks after the conclusion of the 1993 season, Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes surprisingly stepped down from his position for personal reasons.

Rhodes was respected amongst players, having elevated the Packer defense from No. 23 to No. 2 in the NFL in just his second year — their best ranking in nearly 20 years.

Head coach Mike Holmgren needed someone who could keep the consistency Rhodes brought to the unit.

All he had to do was turn on old San Francisco 49ers game film.

Holmgren spent six seasons as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator under legendary coach Bill Walsh. He had also coached two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history in Joe Montana and Steve Young.

Shurmur’s Rams were in the 49ers’ division and played each other twice a year during the regular season. Running a West Coast Offense built on timing, precision and rhythm. So, Shurmur’s sound and disciplined defense often rattled the 49ers, who won four Super Bowls throughout the decade.

Some of the Rams’ most memorable wins with Shurmur over the 49ers included a 38-16 victory in 1988 against the eventual Super Bowl champions. It continued in 1989 with a 13-12 win, one of only two losses the 49ers suffered that season as they went on to claim their second consecutive Super Bowl. In 1990, the Rams added another signature win, beating San Francisco 28-17 and snapping an NFL-record-tying 18-game winning streak.

“Whenever we played the Rams, he always gave me the most problems within the first 15 plays of the game,” Holmgren remembered. “Of all the teams we played, he always gave me the most problems and we had some great battles.”

“It was always a tremendous chess match, trying to find a way to somewhat control that great team,” Shurmur said in 1996 about the 49ers. “They did things so well and played so fast and would get such a rhythm going, that you’d try and find a way to slow them down if you could.”

Shurmur had spent the previous three seasons as defensive coordinator for the Phoenix Cardinals under Joe Bugel, whom he worked with as coaches with the Lions. Shurmur continued his innovations by being one of the first coordinators to run a “Big Nickel” defense with five defensive backs, two linebackers and four down linemen that utilizes bigger defensive backs or hybrid linebackers/safeties to disrupt offenses.

The Cardinals’ defense improved throughout Shurmur’s three seasons despite their 15-33 record that led to the dismissal of Bugel and his staff.

After Haskell, who joined Holmgren’s staff in 1992, recommended he talk to Shurmur about the opening, Holmgren knew he had his coach.

“I didn’t know if I had a shot to get him,” Holmgren said. “I was just so excited to be able to get him in Green Bay, because he was exactly what I thought we needed and wanted. I think what separated him from a lot of people is that he would adjust the scheme to the players he had.

“He drew up the defense and moved players around based on the players he had instead of sticking to a particular scheme and never made it too complicated for them to understand. He’d say, ‘Who do I have?’ The great coaches have the ability to do that.”

“The biggest thing about Fritz was he was all football,” former Packers general manager and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ron Wolf said. “He was dedicated, driven and extremely thorough.”

Shurmur inherited perhaps the greatest defensive lineman in NFL history in Reggie White. An ordained evangelical minister who retired with 198 career sacks (second all-time), White had signed with the Packers in 1993 as one of the NFL’s first big-name free agents after a seven-year career with the Eagles. He was a first-team All-Pro selection six times in Philadelphia.

White had rare abilities to affect games with elite speed, athleticism and strength – often overpowering offensive linemen with his famous one arm “club-and-rip” move – while playing close to 300 pounds.

Having never coached a player of White’s caliber, Shurmur relied on his basic principles of putting players in the best positions to make plays. 

He made White an even more effective player while taking pressure of double and triple teams off him.

This was on display in the 1994 NFC Wild Card showdown against Barry Sanders and the Detroit Lions. The Lions’ defense was top 10 in overall and rushing defense and facing the league’s rushing champion who totaled 1,883 yards on the ground during the regular season.

Shurmur’s answer to stopping Sanders was to play White more on the inside instead of his traditional position on the outside. Using his massive frame and power to their advantage, White affected Sanders’ running lanes and helped Green Bay limit him to minus-1 yard rushing on 13 carries – a career-low for the future Pro Football Hall of Famer – and the Lions to minus-4 overall in the Packers’ 16-12 victory.

It was the lowest rushing total for a team in the playoffs in 31 years.

“[Barry had] been burning up the league, and he had a hard time making a first down against Fritz’s defense,” Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Dick Vermeil, who served as ABC’s color analyst in the broadcast booth for the game, said. “Of course, Reggie White had something to do with it as well, but the overall defensive team shut him down and won the football game.”

The 1995 version of the Packers’ defense was even better.

Ranked No. 4 in the league in both total defense and scoring defense, Green Bay went 11-5 during the regular season behind an MVP season from quarterback Brett Favre before it lost to the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game.

One of the greatest moments Scott remembers having with his father took place in the NFC Divisional Round game against the 49ers the week prior.

The defending Super Bowl champions were favored by 9.5 points with a cast of 10 Pro Bowlers, including Young and the league’s all-time leading receiver in Jerry Rice.

Scott was able to make it and stay at the Packers hotel with Fritz, who slipped him an all-access sideline pass for the game the next day.

On the first play for the 49ers’ offense, Young dumped a pass off to Adam Walker in the flat as linebacker Wayne Simmons – who was Shurmur’s favorite player he coached in Green Bay – came rushing in to blow up the play. The ball was jarred loose, and rookie cornerback Craig Newsome scooped it up and went all the way to the end zone for a touchdown.

Green Bay never looked back, constantly pressuring Young and giving up few big plays in the 27-17 victory. Shurmur used a three-man front repeatedly or would drop a lineman into coverage to throw the offense’s timing off.

“It was one of my dad’s best games schematically,” Scott said.

A first-round pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, Simmons was a gifted outside linebacker but had his share of troubles. There were disciplinary issues with the team as well as off field run ins with the law. Rhodes and the previous defensive staff had challenges trying to find the right approach with him.

However, Shurmur recognized Simmons’ talents and gave him a clean slate with no judgement from past perceptions. Simmons loved Shurmur because of that and rewarded him with his play. When Simmons was surprisingly traded halfway through the 1997 season, Shurmur broke down in tears as he shared the news in a defensive team meeting.

“He gave [Wayne] the leeway he needed and treated him with respect and dignity like an adult,” Scott said. “Wayne was tough as hell and was really physical, which my dad also loved. They really had a special relationship.”

A historic season came in 1996.

For the first time since 1967, the Packers had the NFL’s No. 1 ranked defense and scoring defense, giving up just 13.1 points and 259.8 yards per game. They also set a league record by allowing only 19 touchdowns in a 16-game regular season.

With a defense led by White and first-team All-Pro safety LeRoy Butler – who Shurmur deemed most effective at the line of scrimmage – and an offense in which Favre won his second straight MVP, Green Bay went 13-3 and made its first Super Bowl since that 1967 season.

It was the finest hour of Shurmur’s career as a coach.

Playing the Patriots, in which Parcells was now the head coach of, the Packers held New England to 43 yards on the ground and forced four turnovers. White totaled three sacks, including two on back-to-back plays in the third quarter, that helped power them to the 35-21 win.

“I'm not sure that without Fritz's direction, we would’ve even gotten into the game,” Wolf said.

Shurmur’s entire family was at the New Orleans Superdome that night – including Peggy, Scott and Sally Ann.

During the after party at the team hotel, the Packers’ equipment staff went from table to table with the Vince Lombardi trophy. As the gleam of the iconic prize made its way to the Shurmur family, Fritz grinned from ear to ear knowing what he had accomplished was worth a lifetime of sacrifices and memories to achieve greatness.

“He never looked happier than that moment,” Sally Ann said. “He thought of all the great football coaches he knew who never even got a chance to coach in a Super Bowl as well.”

The Packers made it back to the Super Bowl in 1997 but lost to the Denver Broncos. The pass defense was most effective, allowing just 10 scores through the air and no passing touchdowns in the final 35 quarters of the season, including the playoffs.

Behind first-team All-Pro Butler and NFL Defensive Player of the Year White, Green Bay produced a franchise-record 50 sacks but fell to the 49ers in the Wild Card round on a Young touchdown strike to Terrell Owens with eight seconds left.

It turned out to be the final defensive play of Shurmur’s coaching career.

THE HOUSE SITS peacefully still at the right bend on a U-shaped lake.

A rolling lawn in the backyard of the ranch-style home spans out to the water where it meets a dock and a small boat.

No large motorboats are allowed in order to keep the tranquility in the neighborhood.

Fritz and Peggy Shurmur had bought the spot of land in Suamico, Wis., 12 miles north of Lambeau Field, a few years after he landed his defensive coordinator position with the Packers.

They built their forever home on the plot on the manmade lake, where Fritz’s two passions of family and fishing met.

“His whole dream was to live on a lake,” Sally Ann said.

It is a picturesque setting to reflect on an impactful and inspirational 45-year coaching career.

Holmgren resigned from the Packers the following morning after the Wild Card loss to the 49ers. Wanting more control of roster personnel, the Seattle Seahawks offered him just that as he accepted the job a week later.

His first call of assistants to join him was to Shurmur. Always feeling loyal to the head coaches he worked for, Shurmur decided to accept his offer to become defensive coordinator.

When Shurmur took new coaching jobs in the past, he often found temporary housing and was separated for months from the family before they could join him in his new city. He promised Peggy he would only coach for two years in Seattle before retirement, but this move felt different.

“His mood wasn’t as good,” Scott remembered. “I didn’t know exactly why. In retrospect, it was obvious.”

After participating in team minicamp during the offseason, the coaches got their annual physicals and discovered Shurmur had advanced esophageal cancer just before Memorial Day of 1999.

An oncologist determined he had months to live and there was virtually no chance for cure.

“My dad sat there and didn't bat an eye and just very logically took it all in, which didn't surprise me,” Scott said. “He was exceptionally tough as a person, but obviously it was sad.”

Holmgren remained very supportive of his trusted assistant and friend when he found out the news.

“I just said, ‘Whatever you need from me you have, and just know I love you,’” Holmgren said.

It would be the final conversation he ever had with Shurmur.

After three months of treatment in Green Bay, Shurmur died on Aug. 30, 1999, at his forever home in Suamico.

Haskell, who also followed Holmgren to the Seahawks, came by during his final days while other coaches and players he had worked with called the house.

At the funeral, flowers from every NFL team were present and the Packers held a moment of silence during their final preseason game.

“I think that was the tribute you would have wanted,” Scott said. “It was pretty quick and without a whole lot of fanfare.”

Shurmur’s impact is still felt in football.

In 2014, he was part of the inaugural class for the Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman Award by the Pro Football Writers of America given for lifetime achievement as an assistant coach in the NFL. 

Eight years later, the Pro Football Hall of Fame selected him as an inaugural Awards of Excellence recipient, which honors assistant coaches, athletic trainers, equipment managers and public relations personnel who “not only helped to determine results on the field, but also helped to promote the game’s growth, safety and popularity over several decades of devotion to their teams and to the NFL.”

Tom Moore, who received both honors, knew Shurmur since they were college coaches. Moore, who is 87 and recently retired from a position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a 62-year coaching career, always had his admiration and knew the challenges of facing a Shurmur defense.

“He was respected by everybody in the National Football League,” Moore, who primarily coached offensive football, said. “Everyone knew not only how great of a coach he was but how great of a person he was. Fritz made me a better coach, because every time you went up against him you had to come up with new ideas and answers to what he was doing.

“He made the league a better league.”

Moore, who was known for his core principles and ‘Moorisms,’ uses one when describing Shurmur.

‘R-N-R’ – Results, Not Recognition.

“Everywhere he went, he had great success,” Moore said. “He had no ego. He wasn’t concerned about taking all the credit himself. He always gave the credit to the players and to the organization. He just wanted to coach and win football games. 

“It was never about Fritz.”

Vermeil compares Shurmur as a defensive coordinator to Vic Fangio in today’s NFL, who holds the position for the Philadelphia Eagles. Fangio has been in the league for 40 years and has consistently fielded some of the NFL’s top defenses where “success continues to follow him regardless of the era.”

“There’s no substitute for experience,” Vermeil said. “Guys like Fritz adapt. He would be just as successful now as he was back then. He was a coach that other people copy and learn from.”

Shurmur decided to publish some of his coaching principles and schemes late into his career. He authored four books, including one titled Coaching Team Defense written in 1994.

His nephew, Pat, who most recently served as offensive coordinator at the University of Colorado and was head coach for the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, has continued to use guiding ideas from the book in his own coaching career.

“He was able to share with me things about the profession that were critical,” Pat said. “For example, in the book he says when coaches claim to coach getting turnovers it makes the most sense if the defense has more players around the ball than the other team, they have the better chance of recovering it. That’s common sense, and I think that’s something he taught me as a coach.”

While Fritz himself never became an NFL head coach despite having multiple interviews for a potential position over his career, he was content with his role in coaching and with those he loved the most.

A loyal husband, father, coach and friend, he cared so deeply for all of them through all the sacrifices the world of coaching demands. He was cherished for always extending a hand to offer himself to anyone who needed it.

He shared his life and passion with others. His way of saying, “I love you.”

Illustration: top left (from Albion College), top right (from Sally Ann Shurmur), bottom left (from Getty Images), bottom right (from Sally Ann Shurmur)