Robert Harrison (September 9, 1941 – April 15, 2022) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...

and later served as a coach for John Adams High School, Kent State,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, the

Washington Commandos The Washington Commandos were an arena football team based in Fairfax, Virginia. The Commandos were founded in 1987 and were an inaugural member of the Arena Football League (AFL), and were based in Landover, Maryland. After not playing during t ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. Upon being hired by the Washington Commandos in 1987, Harrison became the second black head coach in modern professional football history (after

Willie Wood William Vernell Wood Sr. (December 23, 1936February 3, 2020) was an American professional football player and coach. He played as a safety with the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL). Wood was an eight-time Pro Bowler an ...

Early life and education

Harrison was born on September 9, 1941, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He attended John Adams High School and joined

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

in 1960. He earned

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

s in three years (1961–1963) and recorded 27 receptions for 350 yards as an

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, Harrison was named second-team All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

. After graduating, he attempted a professional football career but a knee injury ended his playing career.

Coaching career

In 1964, Harrison accepted a position as an assistant coach at John Adams High School. He served as head coach in his final two years with the school (1967–1968). In 1969, Harrison became an assistant coach at his alma mater, Kent State University. He served in that position for two years before being named offensive ends and receivers coach at

in January 1971. After serving three years at Iowa, Harrison was named offensive line coach at

in January 1974. In January 1975, Harrison was named assistant coach at

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. After two years there as offensive tackles coach and tight ends coach, Harrison was hired as

wide receivers coach in 1977. He spent six years with Tennessee before being named wide receivers coach of the

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) on February 16, 1983. After four seasons with the Falcons, he was fired in December 1986 along with several other of the coaches. In , Harrison accepted a position as head coach of the

in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL). The move made him the second black head coach in modern professional football history, after

. Washington compiled a 2–4 record with Harrison as head coach. In March 1988, it was announced that Harrison had been hired by

to become the wide receivers coach. He served with them until being hired by the

in to coach the receivers. He was fired in January 1994. Harrison was later named receivers coach at

, where he served from 1994 to 1996.

Later life and death

Harrison later served as an Atlanta Falcons scout, being named NFC Scout of the Year in 2011. Harrison died on April 15, 2022, at the age of 80, after a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Bob 1941 births 2022 deaths Players of American football from Cleveland Coaches of American football from Ohio American football ends High school football coaches in Ohio Kent State Golden Flashes football coaches Kent State Golden Flashes football players Iowa Hawkeyes football coaches Cornell Big Red football coaches NC State Wolfpack football coaches Tennessee Volunteers football coaches Atlanta Falcons coaches Washington Commandos coaches Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Boston College Eagles football coaches Atlanta Falcons scouts