Jerry Burns, who won two Super Bowls as a Packers assistant before becoming one of the more lovable characters in Vikings history, died Wednesday after a long battle with failing health.
"Burnsie" was 94.
"I'm gonna miss him," Vikings Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant said in a statement.
Born Jan. 24, 1927 in Detroit, Burns played quarterback at the University of Michigan and then spent the next four decades in coaching before retiring as Vikings head coach in 1991. His 24-year stint with the Purple, which included 18 seasons as one of the league's most innovative offensive coordinators of his day, earned Burns a place in the Vikings Ring of Honor.
"He was a brilliant, brilliant coach," Vikings Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton said in a statement. "He enabled me to be better than I was. We worked together so closely for so long and nobody ever had more fun doing it. We were laughing, yelling and screaming, but never had a cross word to each other.
"Without him, I would never have done what I did. He was critical to the success of the Vikings of that era. He was so important to our success."
Burns coached the University of Iowa to a 16-27-2 record before Vince Lombardi brought him into the NFL as defensive backs coach in 1966. Burns helped the Packers win Super Bowls I and II.
"I met 'Burnsie' at Iowa when he picked me up from the airport when I was visiting down there, and from that point on, we started talking football and never stopped," Grant said. "We were on the same page a lot. When I went to Winnipeg [as coach of the Canadian Football League's Blue Bombers from 1957-66], I'd have him come up as a guest coach. Our friendship grew over the years, and we became very close friends and so did our families.