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Harris excited about being at Stanford
Embattled in Pittsburgh, Harris is beloved in Palo Alto, Calif.
"He brings with him over 30 years of experience on the collegiate and professional levels and we are fortunate to have him as our head coach," Leland said.
How do you like that? Turns out Harris is creating a buzz again - it just so happens that it's occurring on the other side of the country. The former Pitt coach and his new fiance, Barb, were introduced at an afternoon press conference on the Stanford campus.
In attendance was the man who helped Harris become a whiz at the West Coast offense - former Stanford and San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh. Harris went 53-42 in eight seasons at Pitt.
"Honestly, this is a tremendous honor for me to be standing here at this great university," said Harris, a South San Francisco native. "I watched this university when I was a little guy aspiring to go to college. And I thought maybe if I was good enough, smart enough, talented enough, I would enter Stanford University. I'm entering in the back door or, maybe, it's the front door. But it's a huge honor to be a part of this great academic institution."
Although Harris had hoped to remain at Pitt - a lack of a contract extension forced his hand -- he sounded enthused about his new endeavor on the west coast, even if that might not have been the case.
"I felt like this was the time for me," said Harris, who led No. 19 Pitt to an 8-3 record this season and will return to Pittsburgh today to prepare his Panthers for their Fiesta Bowl matchup with Utah on Jan. 1. "I always fought the desire to be at home. I cherish the weather, because where I've been, there hasn't been a lot of great weather and very few of my friends have had the opportunity to share in my coaching experience. ... It's going to be a great way to be a 58-year-old and see what happens. It will be a great way to live our life, and I couldn't be more excited to be a part of this school."
Harris is looking to turn around a Stanford program that suffered three consecutive losing seasons under the fired Buddy Teevens. In the next three weeks, he'll juggle duties between Stanford in Pitt.
He said he'll spend his days developing a gameplan for the Utah game, and his nights developing a staff and recruiting players for the Cardinal. Harris said he went through the same type of thing when he remained as an assistant at Ohio State through the Rose Bowl after being hired by Pitt in mid-December of 1996.
Harris doesn't expect any awkwardness when he returns to Pitt, even though the university is in the midst of a coaching search and the players know he won't be around after the New Year.
"I spoke with the administration and we think this is the best way," Harris said of his return for the Fiesta Bowl. "Our football team had a miraculous development and comeback and it would be fitting and correct to finish with those young men. I'm very excited. I'll be going back (today) to begin preparations for the Fiesta Bowl."
