Playing and Early Coaching Careers
Burns played quarterback at the University of Michigan from 1947 to 1950. Michigan won four consecutive Big Ten Conference titles when Burns was with the Wolverines. He graduated in February 1951 with a physical education degree.
Burns then began his coaching career. He served as the head baseball coach and assistant football coach with the University of Hawaii in 1951. Burns left Hawaii to coach at Whittier College in 1952, where he was the head basketball coach and an assistant football coach. At the beginning of 1953, he left Whittier and took a job as head football and head basketball coach at St. Mary's of Redford High School in Detroit, Michigan. Following the 1953 football season at St. Mary's, Burns was hired by fellow Michigan alumnus Forest Evashevski as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa.
Burns began serving as an assistant coach at Iowa under Evashevski, or "Evy", in 1954. He coached the freshman team for most of 1954 before helping with the varsity squad. He coached the backs (running backs, quarterbacks, fullbacks, and defensive backs) in 1955 and 1956. After the 1956 season, defensive coordinator Bump Elliott left to coach at Michigan. Burns was put in charge of the defensive unit, and in his final three years as an assistant, he was in charge of recruiting activities as well.
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