Kodi Burns (born December 24, 1988) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

who is currently the Assistant

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

, Co-

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

and

Wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

s coach for

South Florida Bulls football The South Florida Bulls football team represents the University of South Florida (USF). The Bulls began playing in 1997 and compete in the American Athletic Conference (The American) of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) within the National C ...

. He was previously the wide receivers coach at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

and

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

, where he played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

first as a quarterback and later as a wide receiver winning a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Early life

As a high school senior in 2007 at Northside High School in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

, Burns accounted for 2,738 yards and 36 touchdowns, rushing and passing. He was named All-State by the Arkansas Activities Association and was ranked as the nation's #8 "Dual-Threat" quarterback by Rivals.com. Burns was recruited heavily by

Tommy Tuberville Thomas Hawley Tuberville (; born September 18, 1954) is an American politician and retired college football coach who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from Alabama, a seat he has held since 2021. Before ...

while he was the coach at Auburn and by

Gus Malzahn Arthur Gustav Malzahn III (; born October 28, 1965) is an American college football coach who is the offensive coordinator at Florida State. He was the head coach at the University of Central Florida ( UCF) from 2021 to 2024, Auburn University fr ...

while he was at

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. Malzahn would later be his coach at Auburn and on his coaching staff at Arkansas State.

College career

Burns was a key part of

's offense in 2007. In the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl, Burns ran for a 10-yard touchdown to win in OT for a 23–20 win. After the game Burns was projected by the media and fans to be the starter in 2008, because 2007 was Brandon Cox's senior year. Burns started seven games at quarterback for the Tigers in 2008. He was moved to wide receiver prior to the 2009 season. Burns ran for a touchdown in the wildcat against

Arkansas State Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the state. The university ...

; Auburn won the game 56–26. Against

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

, Burns was in the wildcat and threw a touchdown pass to

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He is the NFL le ...

. Burns also had a key reception in the National Championship Game against

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. Newton found Burns on a long 35 yard touchdown pass, where Burns put Auburn up 7–3 which led to Auburn's win 22–19.

Coaching career

Arkansas State

In January 2012, Burns joined Gus Malzahn's staff at

as an offensive graduate assistant.

Auburn (first stint)

Gus Malzahn was hired to be the Auburn head coach after Auburn went 3-9 (0-8), the worst since a 3-8 1998 season. Burns returned to his alma mater as a graduate assistant on Malzahn's staff.

Samford

On May 12, 2014, it was announced that Burns would coach running backs at

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

in Birmingham, Alabama.

Middle Tennessee

On February 10, 2015, Burns was hired as the wide receivers coach at

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a Public university, public research university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as ...

Arizona State

On January 4, 2016, it was announced that Burns would be coaching the running backs at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

Auburn (second stint)

On February 15, 2016, it was announced that Burns had been hired on as Gus Malzahn's WR coach at Auburn University, replacing

Dameyune Craig Dameyune Vashon Craig (born April 19, 1974) is an American football coach and former player. He is the wide receivers coach for Georgia State University, a position he has held since 2024. He was most recently the wide receivers coach at Texas A ...

nearly 24 hours after Craig's official departure to Louisiana State University (LSU). On December 13, 2020, it was announced that Auburn head coach Malzahn was being fired, along with his entire staff (including Burns).

Tennessee

On February 8, 2021, Burns was hired as the wide receivers coach at the

New Orleans Saints

On February 21, 2022, Burns was hired for his first NFL coaching role, becoming the wide receivers coach for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. On November 16, 2024, it was announced that Saints head coach Dennis Allen had released three offensive staff members (including Burns).

References

External links

Samford Bulldogs bio

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Kodi 1988 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football wide receivers Arkansas State Red Wolves football coaches Auburn Tigers football coaches Auburn Tigers football players Samford Bulldogs football coaches Players of American football from Fort Smith, Arkansas African-American coaches of American football 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen New Orleans Saints coaches Coaches of American football from Arkansas