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By Nick Wagoner/Senior Writer
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Harris-Calls-it-a-Career/fc58c4bd-c01d-48eb-940c-63082a94ce46" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-eve ... 082a94ce46</a>
After 14 distinguished seasons as one of the NFL’s most competitive and well-respected cornerbacks, Al Harris has decided to call it a career.
Making a visit to the Russell Training Center on Wednesday after suffering a season-ending right ACL injury in the Nov. 13 game against Cleveland, Harris let it be known that contest was his final NFL game.
“As far as playing, I think that was my last play,” Harris said. “I just planted wrong. That’s just God’s way of telling me it’s time for me to turn the page. I had an awesome time. I thank God for (coach) Spags giving me the opportunity to come out and I hope I left a positive impression on everybody.”
In a career spanning 194 games and 128 starts, Harris accomplished just about everything there is to achieve for a professional football player. He racked up 21 interceptions, 423 tackles and three touchdowns in that time.
Not bad for a sixth-round draft choice out of tiny Texas A&M-Kingsville who still counts the day he was drafted as the greatest moment in his career.
“I would say 1997, April it might have been the 28th, I got a very important phone call,” Harris said. “Coach (Tony) Dungy was on the other line telling me they were going to pick me in the sixth round and to this day that was the most exciting thing you can ever imagine as a kid growing up, student athlete to get that call.”
Harris didn’t make it far with that first job in Tampa but he caught on quickly with Philadelphia, which claimed him on Aug. 31, 1998. A week later, Harris made his first NFL start in place of veteran Bobby Taylor, went on to start seven games and never looked back.
Upon landing in Philadelphia, Harris first crossed paths with a young defensive backs coach by the name of Steve Spagnuolo. The two hit it off instantly and formed a bond that would eventually lead the pair to reuniting in St. Louis before this season.
Coming off a devastating knee injury to his left knee in 2009, Harris played in just three games with Miami last year because of a hamstring injury. That left Harris wondering if he’d played his final game last year.
But Harris was determined to make a comeback attempt and go out on his own terms. After injuries hit fellow corners Bradley Fletcher, Ron Bartell and Jerome Murphy ahead of Harris, he got a chance to be back in the mix full time.
Even at 37 years old, Harris looked young again in his five starts with the Rams, posting 20 tackles and seven passes defended.
“Once you get back into it, the routine gets back to normal,” Harris said. “Your muscle memory will come back. That’s just what it was: getting in the reps, getting in the right mindframe.”
Although it was a short period of time, Harris proved to himself he could still play. But upon suffering the second knee injury in three years, he knew the time to call it a day had come.
“The first one was just to prove to myself that I can come back,” Harris said. “This one, you have got to take a hint, you know what I mean? I really do think I’ve formed enough professional relationships in this game and in this business to where I can still be around it.
“I am still frustrated right now, the fact that I have to watch my guys go out there and battle and I’m sitting at home. So I am still frustrated right now but I tip my hat to anybody that comes back from a knee injury. To have two of them, it’s a hard rehab. I kind of documented the first rehab of my left knee, it’s a grind. At 37, it’s just time to turn the page. It’s just time.”
Harris said he might have attempted to keep playing had he not suffered the injury but just because he’s walking away from playing the game doesn’t mean he is walking away from the game all together.
“This is what I do,” Harris said. “This is what I love to do. That’s what I am going to come back to do is coach. I have my mind made up on that. Professionally, I think I hit every single goal I set out for myself so now it’s time to turn the page and set a new set of goals.”
Known for his insatiable work ethic that often would keep him at the team facility late into the night; Harris says he will have no problem adjusting to the long hours that NFL coaches put in.
In some ways, Harris was the anti-Allen Iverson. When asked what his favorite part of the job was, he quickly points to the time between the games, the chess match of learning unique opponents every week and figuring out how to get the better of them.
“The preparation, from Monday to Sunday, I really get a kick out of that, getting ready for a different opponent,” Harris said. “For so many years in Green Bay, being assigned to a guy, just to get that guy down pat, get the opponent’s offensive scheme down pat. Those three working days are a challenge for a coaching staff but as a player to get it down week by week, I enjoyed that. That’s why I think to make the transition is not going to be a big deal for me because this is what I do.”
In fact, in some ways, Harris got a head start on his coaching career this year, serving as a mentor to the many young corners the Rams have used at various points this year.
Rams corner Josh Gordy had long been a Harris, said he’s been privileged to work with him and even chose his position and hairstyle in part because of Harris long ago.
“Watching him back in the day was kind of one of the reasons I grew my hair out,” Gordy said. “He was a corner, that’s why I played corner too. I never really told him. The first chance I had to meet him was actually in Green Bay. He was there when I was there last year. I got a chance to meet with him briefly there. I really got closer to him when we got to the Rams. He took me under his wings just like any older guy would and just helped me get acclimated to the playbook. Just watching him and his work ethic, he’s top notch. From that guy, you can learn a lot. He used to bring me in for film study at night, every day during the week, getting extra film study. So it was great having him around.”
There’s little question that Harris will be missed on the field but there’s little doubt that his influence will be coming soon to a defensive backfield near you and when it gets there, there’s even less doubt that influence will be every bit as profound and successful as his career between the white lines.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Harris-Calls-it-a-Career/fc58c4bd-c01d-48eb-940c-63082a94ce46" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-eve ... 082a94ce46</a>
After 14 distinguished seasons as one of the NFL’s most competitive and well-respected cornerbacks, Al Harris has decided to call it a career.
Making a visit to the Russell Training Center on Wednesday after suffering a season-ending right ACL injury in the Nov. 13 game against Cleveland, Harris let it be known that contest was his final NFL game.
“As far as playing, I think that was my last play,” Harris said. “I just planted wrong. That’s just God’s way of telling me it’s time for me to turn the page. I had an awesome time. I thank God for (coach) Spags giving me the opportunity to come out and I hope I left a positive impression on everybody.”
In a career spanning 194 games and 128 starts, Harris accomplished just about everything there is to achieve for a professional football player. He racked up 21 interceptions, 423 tackles and three touchdowns in that time.
Not bad for a sixth-round draft choice out of tiny Texas A&M-Kingsville who still counts the day he was drafted as the greatest moment in his career.
“I would say 1997, April it might have been the 28th, I got a very important phone call,” Harris said. “Coach (Tony) Dungy was on the other line telling me they were going to pick me in the sixth round and to this day that was the most exciting thing you can ever imagine as a kid growing up, student athlete to get that call.”
Harris didn’t make it far with that first job in Tampa but he caught on quickly with Philadelphia, which claimed him on Aug. 31, 1998. A week later, Harris made his first NFL start in place of veteran Bobby Taylor, went on to start seven games and never looked back.
Upon landing in Philadelphia, Harris first crossed paths with a young defensive backs coach by the name of Steve Spagnuolo. The two hit it off instantly and formed a bond that would eventually lead the pair to reuniting in St. Louis before this season.
Coming off a devastating knee injury to his left knee in 2009, Harris played in just three games with Miami last year because of a hamstring injury. That left Harris wondering if he’d played his final game last year.
But Harris was determined to make a comeback attempt and go out on his own terms. After injuries hit fellow corners Bradley Fletcher, Ron Bartell and Jerome Murphy ahead of Harris, he got a chance to be back in the mix full time.
Even at 37 years old, Harris looked young again in his five starts with the Rams, posting 20 tackles and seven passes defended.
“Once you get back into it, the routine gets back to normal,” Harris said. “Your muscle memory will come back. That’s just what it was: getting in the reps, getting in the right mindframe.”
Although it was a short period of time, Harris proved to himself he could still play. But upon suffering the second knee injury in three years, he knew the time to call it a day had come.
“The first one was just to prove to myself that I can come back,” Harris said. “This one, you have got to take a hint, you know what I mean? I really do think I’ve formed enough professional relationships in this game and in this business to where I can still be around it.
“I am still frustrated right now, the fact that I have to watch my guys go out there and battle and I’m sitting at home. So I am still frustrated right now but I tip my hat to anybody that comes back from a knee injury. To have two of them, it’s a hard rehab. I kind of documented the first rehab of my left knee, it’s a grind. At 37, it’s just time to turn the page. It’s just time.”
Harris said he might have attempted to keep playing had he not suffered the injury but just because he’s walking away from playing the game doesn’t mean he is walking away from the game all together.
“This is what I do,” Harris said. “This is what I love to do. That’s what I am going to come back to do is coach. I have my mind made up on that. Professionally, I think I hit every single goal I set out for myself so now it’s time to turn the page and set a new set of goals.”
Known for his insatiable work ethic that often would keep him at the team facility late into the night; Harris says he will have no problem adjusting to the long hours that NFL coaches put in.
In some ways, Harris was the anti-Allen Iverson. When asked what his favorite part of the job was, he quickly points to the time between the games, the chess match of learning unique opponents every week and figuring out how to get the better of them.
“The preparation, from Monday to Sunday, I really get a kick out of that, getting ready for a different opponent,” Harris said. “For so many years in Green Bay, being assigned to a guy, just to get that guy down pat, get the opponent’s offensive scheme down pat. Those three working days are a challenge for a coaching staff but as a player to get it down week by week, I enjoyed that. That’s why I think to make the transition is not going to be a big deal for me because this is what I do.”
In fact, in some ways, Harris got a head start on his coaching career this year, serving as a mentor to the many young corners the Rams have used at various points this year.
Rams corner Josh Gordy had long been a Harris, said he’s been privileged to work with him and even chose his position and hairstyle in part because of Harris long ago.
“Watching him back in the day was kind of one of the reasons I grew my hair out,” Gordy said. “He was a corner, that’s why I played corner too. I never really told him. The first chance I had to meet him was actually in Green Bay. He was there when I was there last year. I got a chance to meet with him briefly there. I really got closer to him when we got to the Rams. He took me under his wings just like any older guy would and just helped me get acclimated to the playbook. Just watching him and his work ethic, he’s top notch. From that guy, you can learn a lot. He used to bring me in for film study at night, every day during the week, getting extra film study. So it was great having him around.”
There’s little question that Harris will be missed on the field but there’s little doubt that his influence will be coming soon to a defensive backfield near you and when it gets there, there’s even less doubt that influence will be every bit as profound and successful as his career between the white lines.