LA Tech announces hiring of football assistant Jeff Burris

RUSTON – Louisiana Tech Football head coach Sonny Cumbie announced the hiring of Jeff Burris as passing game coordinator and safeties coach on Tuesday.

“Our team and staff are excited to welcome Jeff and Lisa back to Ruston and Louisiana Tech,” Cumbie said. “As our passing game coordinator on defense Jeff will have a great impact on our program. Inside our walls on a daily basis and how he will pour into our players will be a true difference-maker.”

Burris, a first-round selection in the 1994 NFL Draft and All-American safety at Notre Dame, returns to Ruston after a three-year stint at Louisiana-Lafayette. Burris spent three seasons at Louisiana Tech (2018-20), where he helped lead the Bulldogs to a 23-13 mark and three consecutive bowl appearances, highlighted by a 10-3 season in 2019.

“My first time at Tech was a great experience and when Coach Cumbie allotted me this opportunity I could not pass it up,” Burris said. “I am excited to continue the Bulldog Country Legacy that has been established by so many great people.”

He brings a wealth of knowledge to the Bulldog coaching staff with over nine years of coaching experience at the collegiate level and three years in the NFL.

Louisiana-Lafayette registered another bowl appearance in 2023 as Burris’ cornerbacks played a significant role in the Ragin Cajuns’ 13 interceptions, ranking 21st nationally.

In 2022, Burris’ cornerbacks registered five interceptions and broke up 22 passes while the defense finished in the top half of the Sun Belt and propelled ULL to its fifth-consecutive bowl game, a school record.

Burris coached two standout cornerbacks in Eric Garror and Mekhi Garner in his first season with the Ragin’ Cajuns.

Garror, who picked up Second Team All-Sun Belt honors in 2021, finished the season with a team-high two interceptions and seven pass breakups, while Garner led the team with eight pass breakups and was credited with 31 tackles to earn Third Team All-Conference recognition.

Burris’ cornerback room helped the Ragin’ Cajuns rank 11th nationally in scoring defense (18.5) and 22nd nationally in total defense (334.6), allowing the team to secure the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Championship.

During his first stint in Ruston, Burris coached defensive backs L’Jarius Sneed and Amik Robertson, who were selected with back-to-back picks in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders, respectively.

Robertson finished his three-year career as one of the most decorated Bulldog defense backs ever, recording 14 career interceptions (three pick-sixes) and 48 passes defended. As a junior, he earned five separate All-America honors, was named a First Team All-Conference selection, and a Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist. He led the team and ranked seventh nationally with five interceptions – two of which he returned for touchdowns. Robertson led the nation with 16 pass breakups and held opposing quarterbacks to a 53.7 passer rating in his primary coverage.

Before moving to safety in 2019, Sneed recorded 59 tackles, eight pass breakups, and three interceptions at cornerback as a junior in 2018 under Burris’ tutelage.

Prior to joining the staff at Louisiana Tech, Burris spent the 2017 season on the Northern Iowa football staff coaching the cornerbacks for the Panthers with current Louisiana Tech Defensive Coordinator Jeremiah Johnson.

In 2016, he returned to Notre Dame. He served as a senior defensive analyst for the Fighting Irish, assisting the defensive coordinator with valuable information designed to improve the efficiency and success of Notre Dame’s defense.

Burris joined the Notre Dame coaching staff after a three-year stint as the assistant defensive backs coach with the Miami Dolphins (2013-15).

In 2014, Burris assisted a Dolphins defensive backfield that finished the season ranked sixth in the NFL after allowing an average of just 223.3 passing yards per game. It marked the third straight season the unit had improved its ranking. With the help of Burris’ assistance, Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes recorded a team-leading five interceptions en route to his second Pro Bowl in as many years with the team. Additionally, safety Reshad Jones was one of three players in the NFL to record 70 or more tackles, one sack, and three interceptions in 2014.

In 2013, Burris helped guide a Dolphins secondary that saw marked improvement, going from 27th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game in 2012 to 16th in 2013. The defense also nearly doubled its interception output, from 10 in 2012 to 18 in 2013. Further, the defense allowed only four touchdown passes to receivers all season. The unit was fifth in the NFL in passer rating against, limiting opponents to a 77.3 rating.

Burris, who coached at UMass in 2012, spent a year coaching cornerbacks for the United Football League’s Sacramento Mountain Lions in 2011. He also held a coaching internship with the Bills in 2008.

He began his coaching career in 2007 at Fishers (Ind.) High School, where he worked with the defensive backfield and assisted in the implementation of the school’s defensive scheme.

Burris played college football at Notre Dame and was a safety for the Irish (1990-93), becoming a consensus All-America pick and senior tri-captain. As a senior, Burris helped lead Notre Dame to an 11-1 record in 1993 as the Irish ranked second in the final national polls that season.

After being selected as a first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in the 1994 NFL Draft, Burris played cornerback for 10 seasons with the Bills (1994-97), Indianapolis Colts (1998-2001) and Cincinnati Bengals (2002-03). Burris earned a spot on the NFL’s all-rookie team in 1994.

Burris is a native of Rock Hill, South Carolina and has a wife, Lisa.