Walt Harris
Walt Harris went 69–85 as a head coach, 1989–2006, at Pacific, Pittsburgh and Stanford. Share
- Record
- 69–85 career
- Seasons
- 13
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 2002 9–4, No. 19
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Pacific | 2–10 | T–6th | |||
| 1990 | Pacific | 4–7 | 6th | |||
| 1991 | Pacific | 5–7 | 4th | |||
| 1992–96: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1997 | Pittsburgh | 6–6 | T–3rd | Liberty Bowl L | ||
| 1998 | Pittsburgh | 2–9 | 8th | |||
| 1999 | Pittsburgh | 5–6 | T–6th | |||
| 2000 | Pittsburgh | 7–5 | T–3rd | Insight.com Bowl L | ||
| 2001 | Pittsburgh | 7–5 | T–3rd | Tangerine Bowl W | ||
| 2002 | Pittsburgh | 9–4 | 3rd | Insight Bowl W | 19 | |
| 2003 | Pittsburgh | 8–5 | 3rd | Continental Tire Bowl L | ||
| 2004 | Pittsburgh | 8–4 | T–1st | Fiesta Bowl L | 25 | |
| 2005 | Stanford | 5–6 | T–4th | |||
| 2006 | Stanford | 1–11 | 10th | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 38 | 7–31 | 18% |
| Against top-10 teams | 19 | 2–17 | 11% |
| Against rivals | 40 | 9–31 | 23% |
| Conference games | 93 | 41–52 | 44% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 6 | 2–4 | 33% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 58 | 27–31 | 47% |
| At home | 75 | 39–36 | 52% |
| On the road | 72 | 28–44 | 39% |
| At neutral sites | 7 | 2–5 | 29% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 65 | 44–21 | 68% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 89 | 25–64 | 28% |
His own 154 games on file, 1989–2006, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom O’Brien 1997–2004 | 4–4 | Boston College | 8 | |
| Paul Pasqualoni 1997–2004 | 2–6 | Syracuse | 8 | |
| Bobby Wallace 1998–2004 | 6–1 | Temple | 7 | |
| Frank Beamer 1997–2003 | 4–3 | Virginia Tech | 7 | |
| Terry Shea 1990–2000 | 3–3 | San José State, Rutgers | 6 | |
| Greg Schiano 2001–2004 | 4–0 | Rutgers | 4 | |
| Don Nehlen 1997–2000 | 2–2 | West Virginia | 4 | |
| Rich Rodriguez 2001–2004 | 2–2 | West Virginia | 4 | |
| Tyrone Willingham 2002–2006 | 2–2 | Notre Dame, Washington | 4 | |
| Butch Davis 1997–2000 | 1–3 | Miami | 4 |
Walt Harris’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Rutgersseries | 8 | 7–1 |
| Templeseries | 8 | 6–2 |
| Boston Collegeseries | 8 | 4–4 |
| West Virginiaseries | 8 | 4–4 |
| Notre Dameseries | 8 | 2–6 |
| Syracuseseries | 8 | 2–6 |
| Virginia Techseries | 7 | 4–3 |
| Miamiseries | 7 | 1–6 |
Also a player: Walt Harris’s playing career.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | El Camino HS (CA) high school | Head coach | |
| 1971–73 | Pacific (CA) | Defensive backs coach | |
| 1974–77 | California | Linebackers coach | |
| 1978 | Air Force | Defensive backs coach | |
| 1978–79 | Michigan State | Linebackers coach | |
| 1980–82 | Illinois | Quarterbacks coach | |
| 1983–88 | Tennessee | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1989–91 | Pacific (CA) | Head coach | |
| 1992–94 | New York Jets NFL | Quarterbacks coach | |
| 1995–96 | Ohio State | Quarterbacks coach | |
| 1997–2004 | Pittsburgh | Head coach | |
| 2005–06 | Stanford | Head coach | |
| 2009 | Akron | Quarterbacks coach | |
| 2010 | California (PA) | Offensive coordinator |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Homer SmithPacific
- Chester CaddasPacific
- Mike WhiteCalifornia, Illinois
- Bill ParcellsAir Force
- Darryl RogersMichigan State
- Johnny MajorsTennessee
- Pete CarrollNew York Jets
- John CooperOhio State
- J.D. BrookhartAkron
Assistants who became head coaches
- Hue JacksonOakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Grambling
- Jim FenwickPierce, Los Angeles Valley, Cal State Northridge, Eastern Oregon
- Vincent WhiteSaint Mary’s (CA)
- Curt CignettiJames Madison, Indiana, IU Pennsylvania, Elon
- J.D. BrookhartAkron
- Steve MooshagianFresno City, Sacramento State, Feather River, Ventura
- Joe MoorheadMississippi State, Akron, Fordham
- David BlackwellEast Carolina
- Paul RhoadsIowa State
- Charlie PartridgeFlorida Atlantic
- Dino BabersBowling Green, Syracuse, Eastern Illinois
- Bill BleilWestern Carolina
- and 3 more
Worked under (9)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homer Smith | Pacific | 1971 | Defensive backs coach | |
| Chester Caddas | Pacific | 1972–73 | Defensive backs coach | |
| Mike White | California | 1974–77 | Linebackers coach | |
| Bill Parcells | Air Force | 1978 | Defensive backs coach | |
| Darryl Rogers | Michigan State | 1978–79 | Linebackers coach | |
| Mike White | Illinois | 1980–82 | Quarterbacks coach | |
| Johnny Majors | Tennessee | 1983–88 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Pete Carroll | New York Jets NFL | 1994 | Quarterbacks coach | |
| John Cooper | Ohio State | 1995–96 | Quarterbacks coach | |
| J.D. Brookhart | Akron | 2009 | Quarterbacks coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (15)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hue Jackson | Pacific, 1989: graduate assistant and wide receivers, running backs and special teams coach | Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Grambling | |
| Jim Fenwick | Pacific, 1990: running backs coach | Pierce, Los Angeles Valley, Cal State Northridge, Eastern Oregon | |
| Vincent White | Pacific, 1990–91: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach; Pittsburgh, 1997–99: running backs coach | Saint Mary’s (CA) | |
| Curt Cignetti | Pittsburgh, 1997–99: quarterbacks and tight ends coach | James Madison, Indiana, IU Pennsylvania, Elon | |
| J.D. Brookhart | Pittsburgh, 1997–98: tight ends coach; 1999: wide receivers coach; 2000–03: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | Akron | |
| Steve Mooshagian | Pittsburgh, 1997–98: offensive coordinator | Fresno City, Sacramento State, Feather River, Ventura | |
| Joe Moorhead | Pittsburgh, 1998–99: graduate assistant | Mississippi State, Akron, Fordham | |
| David Blackwell | Pittsburgh, 2000–02: linebackers coach | East Carolina | |
| Paul Rhoads | Pittsburgh, 2000–04: defensive coordinator | Iowa State | |
| Charlie Partridge | Pittsburgh, 2003–04: defensive ends coach | Florida Atlantic | |
| Dino Babers | Pittsburgh, 2003: running backs coach | Bowling Green, Syracuse, Eastern Illinois | |
| Bill Bleil | Pittsburgh, 2004: tight ends and offensive tackles coach | Western Carolina | |
| Nathaniel Hackett | Stanford, 2005: recruiting coordinator and specialists | Denver Broncos | |
| Tom Hayes | Stanford, 2005: assistant coach | Kansas | |
| Doug Sams | Stanford, 2006: offensive line and tight ends coach | Urbana, Fairmont State, Northern Michigan |
Other assistants under him (5)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Bill McGovern | Pittsburgh, 1997–99: defensive backs coach | |
| Larry Coyer | Pittsburgh, 1997–99: defensive coordinator | |
| Mike Dawson | Pittsburgh, 1999: graduate assistant | |
| Matt Weiss | Stanford, 2005–06: graduate assistant | |
| A. J. Christoff | Stanford, 2006: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
How he coached
Harris’s teams went for it on 13% of fourth downs and on 23% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 52% of plays and took 25.2 seconds a play, 2004–2006.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 11 g | Pittsburgh | 12 of 98 12% | 28% | 50% | 22.6 | −0.06 | |
| 2005 10 g | Stanford | 7 of 86 8% | 15% | 53% | 26.3 | −0.07 | |
| 2006 9 g | Stanford | 13 of 67 19% | 27% | 54% | 27.3 | −0.18 | |
| All 30 g | 32 of 251 13% | 23% | 52% | 25.2 | −0.10 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.