Running backs coach Harris looks to stay perfect in Grey Cup

Andrew Harris has never experienced a Grey Cup that didn’t involve Winnipeg.

He beat his hometown Blue Bombers in the 2011 championship as an up-and-coming running back with the B.C. Lions, won back-to-back titles as a member of the Blue and Gold in 2019 and 2021, and reached the top of the three-down league’s mountain again in 2022 when he helped the Toronto Argonauts upset a heavily favoured Winnipeg side.

Harris now has a chance at a fifth career ring this weekend — in a city and on a field that he knows extremely well — this time as a first-year running backs coach with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who will face the Montreal Alouettes at Princess Auto Stadium.

He’s also never experienced a loss on Grey Cup Sunday.

“Not yet. Hopefully never,” Harris told reporters after Thursday’s Riders practice.

The only thing that would’ve made this week even more special, he admits, is if it were the Battle of the Prairies.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t lie to you if I said it would be awesome to be playing against (the Bombers), especially when they were going to cross over. But at the end of the day, the whole rivalry thing is pretty much dead to me,” Harris said.

“Obviously I put a lot of years in here. I put a lot of years in B.C. and put some years in Toronto. And now my next chapter is with Saskatchewan. It’s a small league and there’s always turnover on any team, whether you’re a player or coach. And you’ve just got to go in and do your job and play your role and get the best out of the guys in whatever position you’re allotted in.”

After playing his final season in 2023 with Toronto, Riders head coach Corey Mace reached out to Harris and asked him to join his staff. ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ said the future Hall of Famer who was intent on taking a year away from football.

The Winnipegger instead worked in corporate sales in London, Ont. — a world he quickly learned was nowhere near as exhilarating as scoring touchdowns in front of 30,000-plus fans.

“When you’re two hours in your day and you’re looking at the clock and saying, ‘Oh my god, when’s this going to be over,’ after being on the phone all morning. And honestly, I got through the first six, seven months, and it just started to eat at me,” said Harris.

“And then when the playoffs started last year, that’s when I got the itch.”

Fortunately for him, Mace’s offer was still on the table. And, fortunately for the Riders, Harris accepted. The 38-year-old’s expertise has played a major role in running back A.J. Ouellette — a teammate from his Argos days — finishing second in the league in rushing with 1,222 yards.

“It’s been everything and more than I thought it was going to be. He’s a hell of a coach and there’s going to be a bright future for him in the coaching business,” said Mace.

“We’re talking about one of the greatest players in our league, one of the greatest Canadians to ever play in our league. A wealth of knowledge at the position and beyond. Looking back at him as a player, it wasn’t always Andrew Harris, the running back, he’s going to score touchdowns. It was like, ‘Man, we don’t know were this guy is lining up at.’ He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s one of the best protection running backs damn near in league history. Those are all intricate parts of what we value on our offence. Him obviously having understanding of the system from his playing days back there in Toronto. I thought it was an easy transition.”

Wearing Riders colours, though, took some getting used to.

“I remember in training camp, putting on the green for the first time, I looked myself in the mirror and I was like, ‘What the hell am I wearing?’ But honestly it’s been awesome,” said Harris.

“I think green brings out my eyes.”

This weekend presents an even bigger adjustment: watching the big game from the sidelines with a headset instead of starring in it.

“As a guy who was an impact player, in situations where things aren’t going well, you know if you get the ball in your hands, you can be a gamechanger and you can change a moment or build some momentum or make an impact in some way,” said the 2019 Grey Cup MVP.

“Now as a coach, and being an ex-player, it is kind of nerve-wracking. I never really used to get butterflies and nervous before games, but I definitely get a lot more anxious and nervous before games as a coach now because the control is out of your hands and you really got to trust the guys.”

He’s back home this week, but his family and friends — who converted to Rider green without hesitation — know he’s here on business and doesn’t have time to visit. He’ll return soon enough and, if history is any indication, he may not arrive empty-handed.

“I’ll be back here in a week and I’ll be able to see all my friends and family and go to all my favourite spots anyways,” said Harris. “And hopefully bringing the Grey Cup back with me.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca