Andrew Harris excited to start coaching career with Roughriders

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Andrew Harris is gladly trading his football allegiance for a great opportunity.

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Following a 14-year CFL career as a running back with the B.C. Lions (2010-15), Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2016-21) and Toronto Argonauts (2022-23), Harris, 37, was officially hired by the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Monday to serve as the team’s new running backs coach.

Now after years of being one of Saskatchewan’s biggest rivals, Harris is looking forward to joining the team under head coach Corey Mace, who was the defensive coordinator in Toronto while Harris was playing with the Argos.

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“I’m a rookie again now as a coach and you need guys that you can trust that will bring you along and will support you,” said Harris, a Winnipeg native who retired after the 2023 season. “I feel like this is a good situation for me, and you know, one that I would have never expected.

“But you know, at the end of the day, it’s football. And I know football really well and I’m excited to help contribute to the success of the team this year.”

After his retirement from playing Harris, a four-time Grey Cup champion, got out of football and took a full-time sales job with a construction company.

“After I retired, I wanted to step away from the game a little bit and, you know, just re-evaluate what I wanted to do,” said Harris, who worked part-time for the company while he was still playing. “And honestly, I wasn’t really missing football that much until the playoffs started last year.

“And that’s when things really get geared up and I just know how that intensity kicks in and the attention to detail. That’s when I first really started missing football, and was kind of thinking, maybe I want to get back into it.”

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In fact, getting into coaching was something he had in mind while he was still playing. After signing with the Argonauts following five outstanding seasons in Winnipeg, Harris would occasionally put on the offensive headset during games that he wasn’t playing in due to injury.

That experience, he believes, led him to this opportunity.

“The reason why I did that and took it upon myself is because I wanted to see if I would enjoy it,” said Harris. “So, I took the time while being hurt very opportunistically.

“I’m going to be rehabbing. I’m not going to be on the field. But what can I do to get myself in a situation to see what it’s like to be a coach?

“After going through that process and seeing what it was, that’s honestly what led to being here now.”

Harris, who said he spoke with others he knew who made the transition from playing to coaching, had conversations with a few teams from across the CFL about coaching jobs or front office opportunities.

But when he connected with Mace, something felt right despite the opportunity being with a team he went up against for so many years.

“The fan base is a great one,” said Harris, who is replacing Anthony Vitale. “It’s always one of the toughest places to play, but always an exciting place to play. And I think there’s a lot of energy and passion for the team, which is amazing.

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“There’s a bigger purpose there because you’ve got people that are expecting you to win and be great, and that pressure makes diamonds.

“It’s just football, right?” he added. “The rivalries are amazing but as a coach, all you’re expected to do is prepare your athletes to play the best they can and try to take the emotion out of it as much as possible.

“Being a Winnipegger, that’s going to be hard to do, but at the end of the day, they’re the other team that wanted to give me the opportunity to coach which I wanted to do.”

After ending his career as the top Canadian rusher in CFL history, Harris, who was named the league’s top Canadian in 2017, believes he has a lot to offer in the coaching world.

“The one thing I know the most about is playing running back,” said Harris, a five-time CFL all-star. “I played 14 years and I’ve got a lot of knowledge to pass on. And I felt like if I would have waited any longer than maybe this opportunity would have went away.

“I was never the fastest, strongest, biggest, quickest dude. My edge was always my effort, and my edge was always the way I studied the game.

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“Little intangibles that you can work on every day in practice and just finesse it over and over and over again, that’s what I’m going to bring to the table for the Riders this year and a lot more.”

Harris, who is in the process of moving from London, Ont. back to Winnipeg, said he is also excited to work with Roughriders running back A.J. Ouellette, after the two were teammates with the Argonauts for two seasons.

“When I went to Toronto, I was really almost like a player-coach in a way,” said Harris. “My performance and dominance on the field that shifted. I wasn’t the main guy anymore. And so, for me, passing nuggets and information and tips and little things down at A.J. and kind of being his ear on the sideline with the iPad; I was already kind of in that role.

“At the end of the day, though, playing with someone that respects you as an athlete (and) respects you as a player, it’ll translate well to being respected as a coach.”

Harris also believes he can also help Ouellette put together a bounce back season in 2025 after the bruising back was limited to eight games last year after signing in Saskatchewan during free agency.

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“The guy is obviously very physically gifted and works hard at being as strong as possible,” said Harris. “I’m challenging him now to kind of focus on being as dynamic and mobile as possible.

“I think that’ll bode well for his longevity. It’ll help him break more tackles because he’ll be able to bounce off and have more balance.

“A.J. is a very, very smart player. He studies hard. He sees the holes well. He reads defences well.

“I think we’re going to see some great things from A.J. and all the backs here.”

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