Pat Shurmur’s Seat Heating Up As Colorado Offense Falters

The Colorado Buffaloes are searching for answers on offense—and fans believe they know where to start looking.

After a blowout loss to Utah, frustration surrounding offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has reached a boiling point in Boulder. From questionable play-calling to miscommunication on the sidelines, Buffs fans are demanding accountability as Colorado prepares for its Homecoming matchup against Arizona.

While Colorado has shown flashes of brilliance, the Buffs haven’t found any rhythm on offense this season, and when something does finally click, it seems to vanish from the game plan.

Take the Wildcat formation with sophomore Drelon Miller against BYU—it sparked the offense, led to a touchdown, and kept the defense honest. Yet, after finding early success, Colorado abandoned it without explanation.

Or look at the screen game. Fans have criticized Shurmur’s over reliance on bubble screens all season, but against Utah’s heavy rush, there were none to be found. The result? Zero rhythm, no adjustments, and a complete lack of creativity.

Shurmur’s play-calling has felt cautious and predictable throughout the season, failing to showcase the explosiveness that made Colorado’s offense so electric last season.

Tensions rose even higher after a viral video showed backup quarterback Ryan Staub on the sideline during the fourth quarter of the Utah game attempting to relay a play call while Shurmur appeared to stumble over the communication several times. The clip quickly spread across social media, where fans didn’t hold back.

One fan wrote, “How does he have a job? This is incredible. Jr. knows what he’s doing posting this. He wants him gone, too. Shurmur is tanking Prime’s success.”

Another posted, “It’s really Deion’s fault. Shedeur and Staub already admitted to calling their own plays. His recruiters only go after G5 and FCS guys, and his staff is full of people hired because of relationships, not results.”

If Sanders did decide to move on from Shurmur, it would mark his second change at the offensive coordinator position in as many seasons. Sean Lewis was stripped of play-calling duties during 2023, with Shurmur taking over. But last season, Shurmur had Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and proven weapons like Jimmy Horn Jr. and LaJohntay Wester. This year, the offense looks lost without that same leadership and explosiveness.

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On Tuesday, when “Coach Prime” was asked whether he would consider adjusting coaching duties after the team’s recent struggles, he made it clear that those types of evaluations already occur regularly within the program.

“We do that from game to game anyway,” Sanders said. “It’s not something that we don’t do—we just don’t tell you all the time. We’re always looking to improve in every area of getting the guys prepared. Not only that, but what’s being called from play to play, situation to situation. You probably don’t know this, but we have a run-game and pass-game coordinator on both sides of the ball, so that’s being challenged all the time. We just gotta get it right.”

Sanders’ answer struck a balance between defending his staff and acknowledging the issues at hand. It also hinted that adjustments may already be underway behind the scenes, even if they aren’t being made public.

Still, time is running out for Colorado to turn things around. The Buffs are 3–5 with four games left, and their offensive struggles are threatening to derail what many fans had hoped would be another promising season.

If Colorado wants to finish strong and keep its bowl hopes alive, something has to change—and soon. Whether that means tweaking responsibilities or making a bold staff move, all eyes will be on Sanders and Shurmur this Saturday at Folsom Field when Colorado plays host to the Arizona Wildcats.