Sunday’s game between the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks may have seemed insignificant at first glance — both teams are set to miss the playoffs — but for CFL fans, the contest was anything but.
Former CFL quarterbacks Henry Burris and Kerry Joseph coached against each other in the game, which ended in a 25-24 win for the Bears. They took a photo together on the field after the game, which Joseph posted to Facebook with the following caption.
Great catching up with Henry Burris. We had many battles in the CFL as QB’s. Now God has blessed us to coach against each other in the NFL. Great things to come.
Burris is an offensive quality control coach with Chicago after joining them in 2020 through the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. He is part of a staff that includes fourth-year head coach Matt Nagy and veteran offensive coordinator Bill Lazor.
Joseph is the assistant wide receivers coach with Seattle after previously serving as a coaching intern with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also coached at the college level, most recently serving as the running backs coach and passing game coordinator at Southeastern Louisiana.
Both men had excellent CFL careers, including major awards and league championships.
Burris threw for 63,227 yards and 374 touchdowns over a 17-year CFL career with Saskatchewan, Calgary, Hamilton, and Ottawa. He was named M.O.P. in 2010 and 2015 and won three Grey Cups, two of which came as a starter. He was also a first-ballot inductee into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, getting the call in 2020.
Joseph spent six years playing in the NFL and NFL Europe before signing with the Ottawa Renegades. He played 12 seasons in the CFL, passing for 28,097 yards and 148 touchdowns with Ottawa, Saskatchewan, Toronto, and Edmonton. He was named the league’s M.O.P. in 2007 and led the Riders to a Grey Cup title that same year.
The CFL has helped produce many NFL coaches — longtime quarterback-turned-assistant coach Marcus Brady is the offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts — but it’s especially neat to see two former stars coaching against each other. Hopefully this was just the first of many meetings between Burris and Joseph.
Burris and the Bears (5-10) are third in the NFC North, while Joseph and the Seahawks (5-10) are fourth in the NFC West.
