Richard Harris (American football)

This article is about the NFL player and CFL coach. For the CFL player, see Dickie Harris.

Richard Harris

Date of birth	(1948-01-21)January 21, 1948
Place of birth	Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
Date of death
Place of death	Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN
Career information
Position(s)	DE
Height	6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight	260 lb (120 kg)
College	Grambling State
NFL draft	1971 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5
Drafted by	Philadelphia Eagles
Career history
As coach
1989	Eastside Express (HC)
1991–1996	Puget Sound Jets (HC)
2000	Portland Prowlers (HC)
2001–2004	BC Lions (DL coach)
2005	Ottawa Renegades (DL coach)
2006–2010	Winnipeg Blue Bombers (DL coach)
2011	Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Asst. HC/DL coach)
As player
1971–1973	Philadelphia Eagles
1974–1975	Chicago Bears
1976–1977	Seattle Seahawks
Honors	All-American (1970) All-Rookie (1971)
Career stats
Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Richard Drew Harris (January 21, 1948 – July 26, 2011) was an American football defensive end who played seven seasons in the National Football League. He was and All-American in 1970 for Grambling and was drafted in the first round (5th overall pick) of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was named All-Rookie in 1971, playing defensive end. Harris spent seven seasons as a defensive end in the NFL, the first three with the Philadelphia Eagles, the next two with the Chicago Bears and the final two with the Seattle Seahawks.

Harris joined the coaching staff of the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2006 after spending time with both the BC Lions and Ottawa Renegades. On July 26, 2011, Harris suffered a fatal heart attack in his office at Canad Inns Stadium. Despite their coach's death, the Blue Bombers continued with their scheduled home game against the Lions two days later, winning 25-20. Prior to the game, both teams and the fans participated in an emotional tribute to Harris.