Shannon Harris
| DC Defenders | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Head coach |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | August 30, 1980 Wiggins, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College: | Tennessee State (2001–2002) |
| Career history | |
As a coach: | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | UFL: 6–4 (.600) |
Shannon Harris (born August 30, 1980) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL). He has previously served as assistant college football coach for the Tennessee State Tigers, Alabama State Hornets, Alcorn State Braves, and Virginia State Trojans. With the Defenders in 2025, Shannon won a UFL championship and was named the UFL Coach of the Year.
Coaching career
[edit]HBCU
[edit]Harris began his coaching career in 2003, after playing two season with Tennessee State Tigers.[1] Between 2004 and 2009, Harris was moved through various roles with the team. From 2010 to 2014, he was the wide receivers coach at Alabama State. From 2015 to 2017, he served as the wide receivers coach at Alcorn State. He returned back to Tennessee State for two seasons before being hired as the offensive coordinator at Virginia State.[2] He was named the Interim head coach in late March 2022,[3] a perfunctory promotion that lasted less than six weeks before Henry Frazier III was permanently hired in early May.[4]
DC Defenders
[edit]Shannon was hired by the DC Defenders in 2023, where he served as the quarterbacks coach for the next two seasons.[5]
On March 22, 2025, Reggie Barlow departed the Defenders, and Harris was named the head coach for the 2025 season.[6] Three days later, Barlow stated that Harris would be among the Defenders coaching staff joining him at Tennessee State.[7] He clarified the next day that Harris would finish out the 2025 season in DC before he and the rest of the Defenders staff joined Barlow at Tennessee State. Harris guided the Defenders to a 6-4 record, culminating in a 58–34 victory over the Michigan Panthers in the 2025 UFL championship game.[8] Harris was named the season's UFL Coach of the Year.[9]
Head coaching record
[edit]UFL
[edit]| Team | Year | Regular Season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| DC | 2025 | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 2nd in XFL Conference | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | UFL Champions |
| Total | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | — | ||
References
[edit]- ^ "Shannon Harris - Quarterbacks - Football Coaches". Alabama State University Athletics. Retrieved 2025-03-22.
- ^ "Shannon Harris - Football Coach". Virginia State University Athletics. Retrieved 2025-03-22.
- ^ "Harris Named Interim Head Football Coach". Virginia State University Athletics. 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2025-03-22.
- ^ Gaither, Steven J. (May 10, 2022). "Henry Frazier III to take Virginia State job". hbcugameday.com. iOne Digital Network. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ Mitchell, Mike (2022-09-14). "XFL 2023: Washington D.C. Complete Staff Breakdown/Analysis". xflnewshub.com. Retrieved 2025-03-22.
- ^ @JamesLarsenPFN (March 22, 2025). "In a twist, sources say that QB Coach Shannon Harris will be taking over as interim HC for the @XFLDefenders (h/t @_JakeRussell)" (Tweet). Retrieved March 22, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ Organ, Mike. "New Tennessee State football coach Reggie Barlow not swayed by school's financial woes". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
- ^ Florio, Mike (June 14, 2025). "D.C. Defenders win UFL title, 58-34". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
- ^ "DC Defenders Head Coach Shannon Harris Named 2025 UFL Buddy Teevens Coach of the Year". theufl.com. June 12, 2025. Retrieved June 15, 2025.