Gary Harrell facts for kids

Gary Lamar Harrell, often called "The Flea," was born on January 23, 1972. He is an American college football coach and a former professional football player. He currently coaches running backs at the University of Wyoming. Before this, he was an assistant head coach and running backs coach at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Harrell played as a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and other leagues in the 1990s. He also served as the head football coach at Howard University in Washington, D.C. for two periods: from 2011 to 2012 and again from 2014 to 2016.

Playing Career Highlights

Gary Harrell had an exciting career as a football player before becoming a coach. He played both in college and professionally.

College Football Years

Harrell played college football at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He was a wide receiver and also returned punts. He played all four years from 1990 to 1993. In 1993, he started every game for the Howard team that won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title.

Harrell still holds records at Howard University. He caught 13 passes in one game, which is the most ever for a Howard player. He also has the record for most catches in a career with 184. In 2005, he was honored and added to the Howard University Hall of Fame. Before college, he played at Miami Northwestern Senior High School in Miami.

Professional Football Experience

After college, Harrell played in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the New York Giants in 1994 and 1995. He also played for the Frankfurt Galaxy in the World League of American Football in 1996. Later, he played for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1996 to 1997.

Coaching Journey

Gary Harrell started his coaching career at his old college and has coached at many different universities.

Early Coaching Roles

Harrell began coaching at Howard University in 2002, where he coached wide receivers until 2003. He then coached wide receivers at Texas Southern University from 2004 to 2005. From 2006 to 2007, he coached wide receivers at Florida A&M University. In 2008, he became the quarterbacks coach at Morgan State University in Baltimore. He also coached for Team Michigan in the All American Football League that year. From 2009 to 2010, Harrell was the offensive coordinator at Bowie State University.

Head Coach at Howard University

In 2011, Harrell returned to Howard University as the head football coach. In 2012, he was named the Local College Coach of the Year by the D.C. Touchdown Club. He took a break in 2013 but came back to coach Howard again in 2014. During his five seasons as Howard's head coach, his teams had a total record of 20 wins and 36 losses. His best season was in 2012, when the team won 7 games and lost 4.

Coaching at Other Universities

In 2017, Harrell joined Lane Kiffin's coaching staff at Florida Atlantic University as the wide receivers coach. Under his coaching, a player named Kalib Woods was named the MVP of the 2017 Conference USA Football Championship Game. Another player, Willie Wright, was a top wide receiver and made the C-USA All-Freshman team. In 2019, Harrell worked at Alabama State University as an assistant head coach and running backs coach.

In November 2020, Harrell became the running backs coach at Jackson State University under coach Deion Sanders. During the 2021 season, Harrell stepped in as interim head coach while Coach Sanders was recovering from surgery. The team won all three games while Harrell was leading them.

In December 2022, Harrell moved with Coach Sanders to the University of Colorado Boulder. There, he was the assistant head coach and running backs coach for the Colorado Buffaloes. He left the team in January 2025. In April 2025, it was announced that Harrell would be the running backs coach at the University of Wyoming.

About Gary Harrell

Gary Harrell grew up in Miami. He earned a degree in marketing from Howard University in 1994. He is married to Tenika, and they have two children: a daughter named Jasmine and a son named Gary Jr. His son, Gary Jr., also played football at Howard University.

Head Coaching Record Summary

Here is a summary of Gary Harrell's record as a head coach at Howard University:

• Howard Bison (2011–2012)
  • 2011: 5 wins, 6 losses (4–4 in conference)
  • 2012: 7 wins, 4 losses (6–2 in conference)
• Howard Bison (2014–2016)
  • 2014: 5 wins, 7 losses (3–5 in conference)
  • 2015: 1 win, 10 losses (1–7 in conference)
  • 2016: 2 wins, 9 losses (2–6 in conference)
• Total at Howard: 20 wins, 36 losses