Former NFL assistant coach Chick Harris dies at 79

Chick Harris, who spent 33 years in the NFL as an assistant coach, died Tuesday, Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle reports. Harris was 79.

He coached eight running backs with a combined 15 seasons of at least 1,000 rushing yards, with Curt Warner, Jerome Bettis, Ahman Green and Arian Foster among them.

Harris began his coaching career in the college ranks at Colorado State in 1970 before going to Long Beach State and then the University of Washington. He was on the staff of two of the Huskies’ Rose Bowl teams.

Chuck Knox gave Harris his break, hiring him at Buffalo. Harris would follow Knox over 14 seasons, going to the Seahawks and Rams after the Bills. He served one season as the Rams’ offensive coordinator.

Dom Capers hired Harris on the Panthers’ first staff in the franchise’s inaugural season of 1995, and Capers brought Harris with him to the Texans in 2002.

Gary Kubiak kept Harris, but Bill O’Brien moved on when the Texans hired him in 2014. That was the end of Harris’ long coaching career in the NFL.

Harris played defensive back and receiver at Long Beach City College and Northern Arizona University, and he is in the hall of fame of both schools.