In 2025, Keith Burns joined the Howard University football team as an assistant special teams coach.
Before Howard, Burns served four seasons (2021-24) as the special teams coordinator and defensive specialist at Tennessee State University (TSU) under then head coach Eddie George. Last season, TSU won the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and reached the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
Burns was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round (#210 overall) of the 1994 NFL Draft. A key reserve linebacker and special teams player, Burns spent most of his 13-year career with the Broncos, winning back-to-back Super Bowls (1997 & 1998). He also played for the Chicago Bears (1999) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2004). Over his NFL career, Burns played 197 games (three starts) with 231 special-teams tackles, 77 defensive stops, 1.5 sacks, one interception, three pass breakups and one forced fumble.
On March 27, 2007, Burns retired as Special Teams Captain and began coaching special teams, later serving as Assistant Special Teams Coach for the Broncos (2011). He joined the Washington Redskins, now Washington Commanders, as special teams coordinator on February 11, 2013, reuniting with former Denver Bronco head coach Mike Shanahan.
Burns began his football career at Navarro Junior College in Texas, earning first-team JUCO All-America honors with six sacks, three interceptions and 192 tackles. He transferred to Oklahoma State for the 1992-93 season, making an immediate impact with 126 tackles, five sacks and three forced fumbles. He was named the Big Eight Conference’s Defensive Newcomer of the Year and ranked the No. 1 inside linebacker by The Sporting News.
