Harris attended
El Camino High School in
South San Francisco, California. Harris received a bachelor's degree in 1968 and a master's degree in 1969 from the
University of the Pacific, where he played
college football as a defensive back. One of his coaches was
Buddy Ryan. His first college coaching position was as the defensive backs coach at
Pacific, and the first recruit he signed was
Pete Carroll. After a series of brief stops coaching defense that included a year as the defensive backs coach for
Bill Parcells at
Air Force, Harris had a career breakthrough when
Mike White hired him as a quarterbacks coach at
Illinois where he helped develop
Dave Wilson,
Tony Eason and
Jack Trudeau, each of whom would go on to play in the
NFL. He was then hired as the
offensive coordinator at the
University of Tennessee under
Johnny Majors, helping the
Volunteers win four of five
bowl games while he was there. In 1989, he received his first head coaching opportunity at his alma mater
Pacific, where he assembled a staff that included future
National Football League head coaches
Jon Gruden and
Hue Jackson. Coincidentally his first game as a head coach was a 38–3 loss against his future team, the
Pitt Panthers. After three years coaching Pacific, Harris moved on to the
NFL where he was the quarterbacks coach for the
New York Jets from 1992 to 1994. A noted quarterback tutor, he helped
Boomer Esiason return to form and earn a trip to the 1993
Pro Bowl. He then spent two years as the quarterbacks coach at
Ohio State working with future pro quarterbacks
Bobby Hoying,
Joe Germaine and
Stanley Jackson.
Pittsburgh Harris was hired to take over for his former mentor
Johnny Majors as the head coach at the
University of Pittsburgh in 1997, where the
Pittsburgh Panthers football program was in decline. They had averaged just three wins per season over the previous five years and were coming off a
1996 season in which they had been outscored 266–13 in games against West Virginia, Ohio State, Miami, Syracuse and Notre Dame. He eventually led Pitt to five consecutive bowl games. In
1997 the Panthers saw an immediate turnaround under Harris, who won
Big East Coach of the Year honors. Pitt went to the
Liberty Bowl, their first postseason game since 1989. The season included a nationally televised upset win on homecoming night against #21
Miami, another upset win over #15
Virginia Tech, and a triple overtime victory over
West Virginia in the
Backyard Brawl. Pitt would post back-to-back losing seasons as they rebuilt in
1998 and
1999. The highlight of the 1999 season was a 37–27 win over
Notre Dame in the final game at
Pitt Stadium. ====
2000==== The 2000 season would see the Panthers finish 7-5 and included a 12–0 shutout win over
Penn State in the final game between the two rivals until 2016. They lost the
Insight.com Bowl to
Iowa State. Wide receiver
Antonio Bryant won the
Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's outstanding receiver. ====
2001==== In 2001 the Panthers overcame a 1–5 start to finish the season with a six-game winning streak and a win over
NC State in the
Tangerine Bowl for their second straight 7-5 finish. ====
2002==== In 2002, Pitt would achieve their first top-25 ranking in 11 years after an upset of unbeaten, #3
Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. They finished 9–4 after beating
Oregon State, 38–13, in the
Insight Bowl and ended the season ranked 19th. That year, Harris won the American Football Coaches Foundation (AFCA) Region I Coach of the Year. ====
2003==== The Panthers began 2003 with high expectations. Prior to the season
The Sporting News named the Pitt coaching staff the third best in the country. he spent much of 2004 seeking a contract extension with Pitt. His already uneasy relationship with the athletic department would deteriorate further when his agent took the unusual step of publicly pressuring the university to give his client a new contract and making comments critical of Pitt. Harris met one final time with the athletic department prior to the Fiesta Bowl but was denied an extension despite the team's accomplishments. Shortly after that meeting Harris was offered the head coaching position at
Stanford and accepted. Many of his Pitt players considered the move to essentially be a firing. After accepting the Stanford job, Harris chose to coach the Panthers in the Fiesta Bowl where they lost to Utah 35–7 in his final game with Pitt. One final twist in the unusual breakup came when Harris, almost immediately after joining Stanford, fired the agent who had criticized Pitt. He left with a record of 52-44 and the third-most games, fourth-most wins, and the most bowl appearances in school history and was replaced by former NFL coach and Pitt alum
Dave Wannstedt.
Stanford ====
2005==== In his first season as head coach at Stanford Harris posted a record of 5–6, including a 20–17 loss at home to
UC Davis of the Great West Conference. ====
2006==== In his
second season as head coach the team posted a 1–11 record, the school's worst since going
0–10 in 1960. He was fired on December 4, 2006, two days after Stanford's regular season ended. By the end of his tenure at Stanford, Harris had surpassed
Jack Curtice with the lowest winning percentage in the history of
Stanford football, with a .261 mark.
Akron In February 2009 he joined the
University of Akron coaching staff as quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator, but the team struggled and head coach
J. D. Brookhart lost his job at the end of the year.
California (PA) In April 2010, Harris became the offensive coordinator at
California University of Pennsylvania. He was replaced after one season and reportedly turned down an offer to join the coaching staff at
Colorado. ==Coaching style==