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Tennessee football: Top five coaches who worked under Johnny Majors

By Caleb Calhoun

4 Jan 1999: Head Coach Phillip Fulmer of the Tennessee Volunteers excepting an award after the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Game against the Florida State Seminoles at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Seminoles 23-16. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Laforet /Allsport
4 Jan 1999: Head Coach Phillip Fulmer of the Tennessee Volunteers excepting an award after the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Game against the Florida State Seminoles at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Seminoles 23-16. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Laforet /Allsport /
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Photo by Rick Stewart /Allsport
Photo by Rick Stewart /Allsport /

player. Pick Analysis. 1983-1988. Walt Harris. Scouting Report. QB Coach; OC. 4. 839

Head coaching record: 69-85 (College)

  • Pacific Tigers: 1989-1991 (11-24)
  • Pittsburgh Panthers: 1997-2004 (52-44)
  • Stanford Cardinal: 2005-2006 (6-17)

There are multiple connections to Johnny Majors for Walt Harris. He worked for Majors for six years with Tennessee football, serving as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, and he also had his most successful coaching run with the Pitt Panthers, where Majors built a national championship program in the 1970s. In fact, he succeeded Majors there after Majors’ second stint.

Anyway, Harris was a Pacific graduate and, like Dom Capers, cut his teeth out west. He coached the Tigers, the Cal Golden Bears and the Air Force Falcons. In 1978, he went to the midwest, joining the Michigan State Spartans for two years and then the Illinois Fighting Illini for three years. Then he went to Rocky Top in 1983.

That year, Harris reorganized the offense with quarterback Alan Cockrell, and UT had its first nine-win season under Majors. They won their first SEC Championship under Majors in 1985, going 9-1-2 and finishing in the top five behind quarterbacks Tony Robinson and Daryl Dickey in 1987, they had their first 10-win season under Majors, going 10-2-1 with quarterback Jeff Francis.

Despite going 5-6 in 1988, Harris had built up his credentials to become a head coach, so he spent three years at Pacific. However, he never had a winning record there, so he spend three years with the New York Jets and two with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

After that was when Harris went to Pitt. He produced Heisman candidate Larry Fitzgerald, won the Big East in 2004 and had two top 25 finishes. That earned him a job at Stanford, but he couldn’t was gone after two years. Still, he had enough success at Pitt to make this list.

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