Dennis Harrison recalls career

Nov. 11, 2009

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This interview between Bill Traughber and Dennis Harrison is exclusive to Commodore History Corner and VUCommodores.com.

Dennis Harrison knows what it is like to become an All-SEC, All-Pro football player and appear in the Super Bowl. The former Vanderbilt defensive lineman was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1956 and moved to Murfreesboro, Tenn., when he was in the third grade. Harrison began playing football in middle school. When Murfreesboro Central was divided into Riverdale and Oakland High Schools, Harrison attended Riverdale.

“I think we won two games the first year I was at Riverdale and we were 5-5 my senior year,” Harrison said recently. “I started as a junior and senior and played defensive end, tight end and kicker. I also wrestled and was on the track team.

“All the SEC and OVC schools recruited me for football. I liked Coach (Steve) Sloan at Vanderbilt and I always wanted to be a teacher and a coach. At that time George Peabody School for Teachers was one of the most renowned colleges for teachers in the United States. That helped persuade me to play football at Vanderbilt. My second choice at the time was Kentucky. Alabama and Tennessee also recruited me, but I did not think I would fit into their programs.”

Harrison at 6-foot-6, 265 pounds and still growing would see a lot of action as a Commodore freshman in 1974. Sloan was in his second season at Vanderbilt as head coach. The previous year Vanderbilt was 5-6 (SEC, 1-5).

“I did not start during my freshman year,” Harrison said. “Everyone thinks I did. Mickey Jacobs was a senior ahead of me and I played behind Mickey my freshman year. It was not a difficult adjustment for me to make going from high school to college because I was playing a lot.

“Mickey played an X amount of minutes, I was right behind him so we pretty much split it. And I still had some things to learn while playing. It was a good crew at Vanderbilt. Bill Parcells was the defensive coordinator at the time. He told me I wasn’t starting so, I wasn’t starting. I didn’t have a problem with that.”

Going into the last game at home against Tennessee, Vanderbilt was 7-3. The Commodores had defeated Florida ranked No. 8 in the country and more victories came over Chattanooga, VMI, Mississippi, Army, Tulane and Louisville. This was Vanderbilt’s first winning season since 1968 and a Bill Pace-coached 5-4-1 year.

The Vols’ game ended with a strangely and is still remembered by Vanderbilt fans today. Vanderbilt was leading 21-13 with one minute left in the game. The Commodores were on their 22-yard line with a fourth down situation. Vandy punter, Barry Burton, was standing inside the 10-yard line waiting to receive the snap from center. The perfect snap went into Burton’s hands, but he bobbled the ball where UT recovered at the Commodores’ 11-yard line. The Vols scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion to knot the game at 21-21.

“That was just one that got away,” said Harrison. “The strange thing is the year before when Vanderbilt was at Tennessee, the exact same thing happened. I remember the news playing both those punts that night (1973 and 1974) and both punting situations looked the same. I know that was going through the veterans and the fan’s minds when Barry was standing there. I was one of those guys who was disappointed that we had a chance to beat them and we didn’t.”

The previous year Burton was in the same punting situation late in the game with Vanderbilt leading 17-13. From the Vanderbilt 24-yard line, Burton attempted to run for a first down from his punting position, but failed. UT claimed a 20-17 victory. Though the 1974 regular season ended for Vanderbilt at 7-3-1, they were invited to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium to face Texas Tech.

“Right before the first half they were on our three-yard line and they ran three plays trying to score,” said Harrison. “I stopped all three of those runs and they didn’t score. In the next half I blocked a field goal attempt. I got MVP out that which was a tough game. That was a good way to cap off my freshman season. I was just at the right place at the right time. It was big that we made it to a bowl game. We didn’t lose the game, but then a few hours later we lose our coach.

Vanderbilt tied Texas Tech 6-6 to finish 7-3-2 and immediately after the game rumors were swirling that Sloan was leaving Vanderbilt for Texas Tech. Several days later Sloan did leave for Tech.

“We were just as surprised as everyone else about Coach Sloan,” Harrison said. “He didn’t say anything to us. We saw it on television. Even when he decided to leave, he never said anything to us. I think the people in charge at the time didn’t think that was something necessary to do. I was disappointed that he was leaving. He was one of the reasons I signed with Vanderbilt.

“People can say what they want, but people sign with a university because of the coaches they meet. We sat around wondering what was going to happen. Then it was announced that Coach (Fred) Pancoast was hired. We didn’t know anything about Coach Pancoast. We just knew that he had been successful at Memphis. We didn’t know what that meant for us just that a new guy was coming in. Coach Pancoast came in and I enjoyed my time as a player with him and still enjoy Coach Pancoast today.”

Parcells would apply for the open Vanderbilt head coaching position, but the job went to Memphis State’s Fred Pancoast. Parcells would become a very successful head coach in the NFL.

“I knew Parcells was a great coach,” said Harrison. “Even though he accomplished a lot at that time, Vanderbilt didn’t give him the job and he wanted it. Anybody that played for him back then and afterwards will tell you he was a good, tough coach. Once he had me stay 30 minutes after practice having me tackle with my face. He had me hitting a sled with my helmet and facemask. He was teaching me how to put my face on the tackler. At least that’s what he said it was.”

As a sophomore (1975), Harrison’s Commodores would complete the season at 7-4 (SEC, 2-4). Pancoast’s squad got off to a 3-4 start and won their last four games over Virginia, Kentucky, Army and Tennessee. There were not so many bowls in that era and the slow start kept Vanderbilt out of the bowl picture. Harrison was playing tackle on defense lined up against the guard.

“We thought we would get a bowl bid after that season, but it didn’t happen,” Harrison said. “We basically had the same record the year before, but we didn’t get invited anywhere. It was great to go on “The Hill” in Knoxville and win that football game.We played in a lot of tight games that season. We had a good kicker in Mark Adams where we won by kicking field goals. We had a new coach and we were adjusting to a new system, but our defense played well and won a lot of games.”

	Mickey Jacobs (left) and Dennis Harrison

In Harrison’s final two seasons at Vanderbilt, the Commodores were 2-9 in each year. They were also winless in the SEC. In both seasons the Commodores opened against No. 5 and No. 1 ranked Oklahoma.

“We felt that if we’d played four full quarters we would have won most of those games the last two seasons,” said Harrison. “At Oklahoma (25-23 loss) we thought we’d won it. They blocked a field goal and ran it back for a touchdown. Those things happen and it was a highly ranked Oklahoma club. We just started to get snake-bitten. We played well for three-and-a-half quarters and something happened to cause us to lose the game.”

Harrison was invited to play in all-star games with the Hula Bowl and the Blue-Gray Classic. He was named to the Academic All-SEC in 1976 and 1977. Harrison was also First Team, All-SEC as a senior.

During the 1978 NFL draft, the Philadelphia Eagles with the 92nd overall pick selected Harrison in the fourth round. So, was Harrison pleased with that selection?

“My head was big enough to think I would get drafted higher than that,” laughed Harrison. “I thought Green Bay would draft me since I had the most workouts with them. Their head scout was a Vanderbilt guy. It didn’t turn out that way, but I ended up where I was supposed to be and I was happy about that.”

In the NFL, Harrison was moved to defensive end lined up opposite the tackle. His coach in Philadelphia was Dick Vermeil.

“Coach Vermeil was a very tough football coach,” said Harrison. “He ran a tough camp. He was a very emotional guy, and I would say he still is an emotional guy. I can’t say enough about how much I respect him. I learned a lot from him through his system. Some of the things I learned from him I try to use in coaching today. I didn’t like the fact that he cried after games. That was part of him and his emotions. He was always up front with me and the guys he played for will tell you the same thing.”

The Eagles were 9-7 during Harrison’s rookie season with a Wild Card playoff berth. Harrison played in all 16 regular season games and became a starter after the sixth game. That season Harrison was involved in one of the most famous football plays in NFL history.

The game is known as “The Miracle at the Meadowlands.” On November 19, 1978 against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium, the Giants had the ball and a 17-12 fourth quarter lead. The Eagles were out of timeouts and 31 seconds remained on the clock. In a third down situation, Eagles QB Joe Pisarcik attempted to hand off the ball to fullback Larry Czonka.

The hand-off attempt was botched and Eagles’ cornerback Herman Edwards scooped of the loose ball and raced 26 yards for the wining touchdown. If Pisarcik had taken a knee as he did on second down, the Giants would have won the game. The 19-17 Eagles victory would help them gain the playoff berth.

“We did make it to the playoffs and lost to Atlanta,” said Harrison. “My best memories from that first season was sacking Roger Staubach and chasing Fran Tarkington. Both those guys are in the Hall of Fame.”

In 1979, the Eagles were 11-5 for second place in the Eastern Division behind Dallas. They beat Chicago in the Wild Card game, but lost the next week to Tampa Bay, 24-17. The following year The Eagles were Eastern Division Champions at 12-4. They defeated the Vikings 31-16 and Dallas in the NFC championship game.

This would be Philadelphia’s first Super Bowl appearance. The game would be played in the New Orleans’ Superdome against the Oakland Raiders.

“We believed in preseason that we had a team that could make it to the Super Bowl,” said Harrison. “Most of the team arrived in training camp a week earlier than we were supposed to. We were anxious to get to work. It was the mindset that we had that year. We were blessed in the end that was we able to get into the Super Bowl.

“We celebrated a couple of days that conference championship. Marion Campbell was our defensive coordinator and Coach Vermeil did a good job keeping us grounded. We wanted to do something special when we got there. Unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way.”

Oakland won Super Bowl XV, 27-10. The Raiders scored two first quarter touchdowns with passes from QB Jim Plunkett to Cliff Branch (two yards) and running back Kenny King for a then-Super Bowl record 80 yards. The Eagles managed a 30-yard field goal from Tony Franklin for a 14-3 Oakland halftime lead.

Second half scoring for the Raiders came from a Plunkett to Branch 29-yard TD pass and a pair of field goals by Chris Bahr. Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski tossed an eight-yard pass to tight end Keith Krepfle.

“We had beaten them earlier in the year (10-7) at our place during the season,” said Harrison. “We were confident we could do that again. One thing I remember is that they held a lot and didn’t get called for it. They were the first Super Bowl team to make it as a Wild Card. We had three key turnovers that hurt us. It was hard to recover at that level with so many turnovers.”

Philadelphia would not be as successful the following years. In the next four seasons the Eagles were 10-6, 3-6 (strike season), 5-11 and 6-9-1. Harrison was a Pro Bowl selection in 1982 and led the Eagles in sacks in 1982 (10.5) and 1983 (11.5). His nickname was “Big Foot.”

“It is more difficult to win the Super Bowl a second time because everyone is shooting for you,” said Harrison. “They try harder because they are playing the previous year’s conference champs that played in the Super Bowl. Most of the time you won’t see teams repeating as Super Bowl participates. They bring their best game from the preseason throughout the season. By beating us they showed that they are improving as a team.”

Harrison would leave the Eagles and became a member of the Los Angeles Rams in 1985. John Robinson was the Rams head coach.

“I was a holdout with Philadelphia and they traded me to the Rams,” said Harrison. “When I was with the Rams, I got to see how another team operated and ran things. We lost in the NFC championship game to Chicago the year they won the Super Bowl. Coach Robinson was a good coach, but the main thing for me was I got to play another year in the NFL.”

Harrison was released by the Rams at the end of the season and was signed by San Francisco and Bill Walsh for 1986. He was released during the season, but picked up by Atlanta. Harrison finished his career with the Falcons during the 1987 season. He said he retired because, “Nobody wanted me anymore, which usually helps.”

The Philadelphia fans have a reputation for being rough on opposing players and themselves. Harrison said he was there when they booed Santa Claus and he saw many fights in the stands. But there was no doubt the fans loved their Eagles.

Harrison said that Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf was the toughest and strongest offensive lineman he faced. Doug Williams was the toughest quarterback to bring down. And what about the toughest running backs?

“I remember hitting William Andrews on first down several times and thinking after the play it was second-and-eight or nine and the announcer would say it was second-and-four,” Harrison said. “Tony Dorsett, John Riggins and Czonka were outstanding backs. Eric Dickerson and Walter Payton are some of those guys in the Hall of Fame that I got to go up against. It was real exciting for me at the time and still is thinking back on it.”

After retirement from the NFL, Harrison returned to the Nashville area to pursue a coaching and teaching career. Harrison served as an assistant football coach at Franklin Road Academy for seven years and head football coach at Page High School for three seasons. He returned to Vanderbilt as a defensive line coach under Commodore Head Coach Woody Widenhoffer (1997-02).

For the past eight years Harrison has been teaching and coaching football, wrestling, girl’s basketball and boys track at Brentwood Middle School. Harrison is the father of 12 children (seven girls and five boys). His son, David, was a standout basketball player at Brentwood Academy earning the TSSAA Division II Mr. Basketball Award in 2000 and 2001. After attending the University of Colorado, he was drafted by the Indiana Pacers (First Round, 29th selection). He played four years in the NBA and recently has been playing professionally in China. Son, D.J. is a professional basketball player in France.

Harrison was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. So looking back at Harrison’s football career, what is he most proud?

“The first thing I think about is making it,” said Harrison. “If you know anything about the history of football in the NFL, and me, you never would have thought I would have made it to professional football. I’m very pleased with that. Not that I cared what people said, and I didn’t try to prove people wrong, I just played and learned to do what I needed to do. Going to the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl were highlights for me personally. Meeting all the different players in the league was great.”

Traughber’s Tidbit: In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt gave the game of football an ultimatum–reform or abolishment. Roosevelt was concerned about the level of violence in the game at the time. That season alone 18 players died from injures playing football and another 149 were seriously injured. A meeting was held at The White House to discuss the situation with a variety of university representatives. Vanderbilt’s William L. Dudley was one of those invited to attend. Dudley was Vanderbilt’s Medical School Dean and organizer of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. He was also a leader among Vanderbilt athletics administration. After the Washington, D.C. meeting, rules were changed to make the game less dangerous and the NCAA was formed. Vanderbilt was one of the 39 original members of the NCAA.

If you have any comments or suggestions you can contact Bill Traughber via email WLTraughber@aol.com.