Alfred Carl Harris (born December 31, 1956) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for twelve seasons during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, and earned

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. He was a first-round pick in the

1979 NFL draft The 1979 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria ...

, and played professionally for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of the NFL.

Early life

Harris was born in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

. He attended

Leilehua High School Leilehua High School is a public, co-educational, college preparatory high school in Wahiawa, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. It is part of the Hawaii State Department of Education, nationally recognized as a Blue Ribbon School by the United State ...

Wahiawa, Hawaii Wahiawā () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Oahu. It is in the Wahiawā District, on the plateau or "central valley" between the two volcanic mountains that ...

College career

He attended Arizona State University, where he played for the

Arizona State Sun Devils football The Arizona State Sun Devils football team represents Arizona State University (ASU) in the sport of American college football. The Sun Devils team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( ...

team from 1975 to 1978. As a senior in 1978, he was a consensus first-team All-American.

Professional career

The Chicago Bears chose Harris in the first round (ninth pick overall) in the 1979 NFL Draft. Harris played for the Bears from to , and again from to . Harris sat out the entire 1985 season due to a contract dispute with the Bears, and missed being part of one of the most dominating Super Bowl teams of all time. Harris returned in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, but a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury and the contract dispute still lingered over his tenure with the Bears, and he signed a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

contract with the

in the off-season in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

. He played two years with the Eagles before retiring.

Coaching career

From to , Harris was the pass rush specialist coach for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. He was dismissed by the San Francisco 49ers on December 27, 2010, after 49ers President Jed York fired head coach

Mike Singletary Michael Singletary (born October 9, 1958), nicknamed "Samurai Mike", is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college foo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Al 1956 births Living people All-American college football players American football defensive ends American football linebackers Arizona State Sun Devils football players Chicago Bears players Sportspeople from Bangor, Maine Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Maine