Former Bomber star Andrew Harris back in Winnipeg as a Roughrider coach
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WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have not won a Grey Cup game since their bitter parting with star running back Andrew Harris.
When Harris was reminded of that on Thursday, he quickly laughed with a satisfied smirk but did not respond verbally.
Harris has since won a Grey Cup ring with the Toronto Argonauts and is now the Saskatchewan Roughriders running back coach. If the Riders beat the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday, it will be his fifth CFL championship. He has never lost one.
“Yeah, it’d be five-for-five,” said Harris, adding that the Blue Bombers were involved in each one. “In ’11, beat Winnipeg (as a B.C. Lion), won two with Winnipeg (2019 and ’21), then beat Winnipeg with Toronto (2022). Now, I’m coaching in Winnipeg.
“Winnipeg’s been a part of my stories in Grey Cups and winning one as a coach in my first year would be absolutely outstanding. I’m really blessed to be in this situation, to be in this game in my rookie season as a coach. I’m really excited for the rest of the week and ultimately on Sunday, I can’t wait to get after it.”
Harris, 38, also has the possibility of winning it on the field where he enjoyed so much success.
“It’s home,” said the five-time CFL all-star and the 2017 most outstanding Canadian player. “A lot of miles on this field and a lot of great games, and a lot of great memories.”
Harris said he would have relished facing the Bombers in Sunday’s Grey Cup had they won the East through the crossover.
“Obviously I put a lot of years in here,” he said. “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.”
Harris is currently the all-time CFL leader in rushing by a Canadian with more than 10,000 yards.
Roughriders head coach Corey Mace tried to hire Harris in 2024.
“We’re talking about one of the greatest players in our league, one of the greatest Canadians to ever play in our league,” Mace said. “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.
Mace said Harris has transitioned well to the Roughriders, in part because he was a teammate of feature running back AJ Ouellette in Toronto.
“He’s a hell of a coach and there’s going to be a bright future for him in the coaching business,” Mace said.
Ouellette credited Harris for his improvement this season.
“It’s awesome to have a coach that you’re comfortable with,” he said. “You can talk about pretty much anything – life, football. But his knowledge of the game, playing in different systems, I can ask him a bunch of questions, dumb it down, I guess, so I can understand it. Even his ability to play the game. Not too many people can play the running back position as well as he did, so he’ll say something and you’ve got to take it in. He knows what it takes to win.
“And it’s got to feel good (for him) to be back here, right? I’ve just got to do my job and win it for him.”
Harris also got Ouellette to change his workout regime and suggested that he slim down.
“It’s longevity,” he said. “It’s playing as many games as possible, and how you go into contact and how you’re smart about what you’re doing off the field. He was a guy that was squatting 700 pounds every day and I’m telling him, ‘You can’t beat your body down like that and expect to get 220 touches like you did this year.’ So, more mobility, more flexibility, and less just being a meathead in the gym.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 13, 2025.