Shannon Harris enters the 2026 season as head coach of the reigning UFL champion D.C. Defenders, fresh off one of the most remarkable first seasons any head coach has had in modern spring football. A former quarterback at Tennessee State who went undrafted in 2003, Harris moved almost immediately into coaching and spent nearly two decades climbing through the HBCU ranks.
He cycled through roles at his alma mater Tennessee State as graduate assistant, quarterbacks coach, tight ends coach, wide receivers coach, and eventually offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2020. Along the way he served as quarterbacks coach at Alabama State from 2010 to 2014, wide receivers coach at Alcorn State from 2015 to 2017, and offensive coordinator at Virginia State in 2021, where he also took over as interim head coach in 2022.
Hired by the D.C. Defenders as quarterbacks coach in 2023, Harris was elevated to interim head coach in March 2025 and given the job full-time that July. He promptly led Washington to the 2025 UFL championship and was named the league's Buddy Teevens Coach of the Year, setting the stage for a title defense in 2026.