Connected sports records
Season reference · 1991–2014
Year by year
Franchise statistics
| Team | Years | Seasons | G/GS | QB record | CMP/ATT | Pass yards | Pass TD | INT | CMP% | Rating | Rush att | Rush yards | Rush TD | Sacks taken | Fumbles lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Lions | 1991–2008 | 18 | 288/288 | 119–169 | 6,439/10,314 | 79,983 | 584 | 304 | 62.4% | 93.0 | 550 | 1,548 | 8 | 688 | 60 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 2009–2014 | 6 | 96/96 | 62–34 | 2,163/3,368 | 26,472 | 211 | 76 | 64.2% | 99.8 | 131 | 271 | 0 | 188 | 14 |
Awards and voting history
- Super Bowl championship and MVP
- 2014 · XLIX
- 13× Pro Bowl
- 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014
- 4× Second-Team All-Pro
- 1992, 1993, 1996, 2000
- Offensive Rookie of the Year
- 1991
- 4× Best QB · Anonymous NFL player poll
- 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996
- NFL MVP / First-Team All-Pro
- 0 / 0
| Season | Finish |
|---|---|
| 1991 | 3rd |
| 1992 | 2nd |
| 1993 | 2nd |
| 1995 | 4th |
| 1996 | 2nd |
| 2000 | 2nd |
| 2002 | 3rd |
| 2013 | 3rd |
2013: Peyton Manning first, Mac Walls second, Jason Harris third.
01 / Biography
Life and background
USC and the first overall selection
Harris was born on June 1, 1970, in Santa Clara, California. He attended USC from 1988 through 1990. The Detroit Lions selected him first overall in the 1991 NFL Draft. His older brother Jay played quarterback for Pittsburgh.
Harris had exceptional arm strength and extraordinary durability. He started sixteen games in every season from 1991 through 2014. His passing volume, longevity and costly interceptions became recurring subjects of public debate; critics called him a statistical accumulator or “stat padder.”
USC: the referee assault
During his USC career, Harris confronted a referee over a missed defensive pass interference call in a game USC lost 26–20. He punched the official and knocked him unconscious with one blow. The game date and opponent remain undocumented.
Harris was immediately ejected and suspended for six weeks. His teammates did not defend his actions. Public condemnation was widespread, many considered the suspension too lenient, and a game commentator called for his removal from the team. Harris responded, “I have made better choices.” He offered no further meaningful apology. The referee never forgave him, although the incident did not become an ongoing personal feud.
Harris continued arguing after his suspension but committed no further physical violence during the remainder of his college career. Numerous NFL teams considered his conduct a serious draft concern, and some were unwilling to select him. Detroit drafted him first overall in 1991, placing his football ability ahead of the disciplinary risk.
Eighteen seasons in Detroit
Harris played alongside Barry Sanders and later Calvin Johnson. As a rookie in 1991, he passed for 3,894 yards and thirty touchdowns, earned Offensive Rookie of the Year and led Detroit to a 12–4 record. The Lions defeated Dallas 38–6 before losing the NFC Championship to Cody Harrison’s Seahawks, 31–24.
He passed for 5,112 yards and 43 touchdowns in 1992, the first of four NFL MVP runner-up seasons. He also finished second in 1993, 1996 and 2000. He earned four Second-Team All-Pro selections and was voted the NFL’s best quarterback by fellow players four times. He never won NFL MVP or First-Team All-Pro.
Detroit lost Wild Card games to Green Bay in 1993 and 1994. Harris threw two interceptions in the 1993 loss, including one returned 101 yards for a touchdown. In 1994, Barry Sanders was held to minus one yard on thirteen carries. Philadelphia won 58–37 in 1995; Harris passed for 421 yards and four touchdowns but threw three interceptions, two returned for scores.
1991: Tanner Milroe
During Harris’s rookie season, he approached Tanner Milroe for the customary postgame handshake after a game Milroe had lost. Milroe pushed him away. Harris pulled him back. Milroe asked, “You wanna go tough guy? I got time today.” Harris replied, “Yea I think I can fit in a beating.” The exact game date remains unconfirmed.
Milroe won the ensuing fight decisively. Harris suffered a black eye and broken nose; Milroe had a bloody nose. Harris subsequently behaved as though the fight had never happened. Milroe did not publicly boast about the victory.
1992: the practice confrontation
In his second NFL season, Harris argued with Detroit’s head coach at practice over offensive play-calling. The coach grabbed him by the collar. Harris retaliated and quickly ended the fight, then threatened, “Touch me again and we’ll need a body bag.”
Detroit fired the head coach and fined Harris. He remained the franchise quarterback. The coach’s identity and the fine amount are undocumented.
1995: the Green Bay spectator incident
After a game in Green Bay, Harris punched a spectator while leaving. Harris said the fan had provoked him with disrespectful remarks. The spectator said Harris had attacked without provocation. The accounts remain disputed. The NFL fined Harris.
1996: the Packers press conference
A Brett Favre Hail Mary gave Green Bay a 36–30 victory over Detroit. Afterward, Harris delivered the most notorious press conference of his career:
“fuck brett favre, fuck the packers, fuck Lambeau field, fuck the entire state of Wisconsin, I hate this team beyond words there stadium sucks, there jerseys suck, the stupid ‘cheese heads’ thing is so stupid, The Packers are like nazi germany, convince everyone there not actually that bad but in reality are worse then in the devil”
The NFL fined him. Asked whether he meant what he had said, Harris replied, “I maybe could have chose a different comparison”. He did not retract his condemnation of Green Bay. He never repeated a press conference meltdown of that magnitude; physical confrontations and arguments accounted for most of his broader disciplinary reputation.
1999: the Soldier Field brawl
Two spectators threw a drink at Harris at Soldier Field. One challenged him, “What are you gonna do about it?” Harris climbed into the stands and fought both spectators, beating them before he was dragged away.
Both fans received lifetime bans from all NFL stadiums. The NFL fined Harris $1,000,000. He publicly maintained that he would gladly repeat his actions. The prevailing public reaction supported him, with many fans viewing the spectators as responsible for provoking the confrontation. The incident did not end his popularity.
02 / Career & Football Identity
The player and the résumé
Jason Harris started every regular-season game of his twenty-four-year NFL career. Detroit selected the USC quarterback first overall in 1991. He spent eighteen seasons with the Lions and six with Seattle, passing for 106,455 yards and 795 touchdowns. He reached four Super Bowls, winning his only championship and Super Bowl MVP in his final game.
The 2002 road to Super Bowl XXXVII
The 9–7 Lions entered the playoffs as the NFC’s sixth seed. They won three consecutive road games: 34–31 at Green Bay, 34–31 at Tampa Bay and 37–34 at Philadelphia. Harris passed for 1,581 yards and fourteen touchdowns across the four-game postseason.
Tyrese Holloway’s Bengals defeated Detroit 43–36 in Super Bowl XXXVII. Harris completed 33 of 51 passes for 409 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Harris considered the run one of his proudest achievements and later called the team the “Greatest Underdog Story Ever”.
The winless final Detroit season
Detroit finished 0–16 in 2008. Harris passed for 5,107 yards but threw 32 interceptions against 26 touchdowns. He was sacked 51 times and lost five fumbles. It was his final season with the Lions.
Arguments and physical fights spread through the locker room. Calvin Johnson remained one of the few bright spots. Harris admired his reliability and confronted teammates who criticized the receiver, asking, “What do you do?” Johnson’s objections did not necessarily persuade Harris to stop fighting.
In 2009, Detroit selected Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford first overall and traded Harris to Seattle for two fourth-round picks. Harris was delighted to leave and welcomed the fresh start for both sides. He held no resentment toward Stafford.
Seattle and consecutive NFC championships
Harris joined Seattle in 2009. The Seahawks went 12–4 and won fourth-quarter comebacks against Dallas and New Orleans before losing Super Bowl XLIV to Buffalo, 36–17. Matthew Hall won Super Bowl MVP.
Seattle won the NFC West at 7–9 in 2010. Marshawn Lynch’s 67-yard Beast Quake touchdown helped defeat New Orleans. Seattle then beat Chicago and Tampa Bay before losing Super Bowl XLV to Buffalo, 37–24. The Seahawks became the first WAU NFL team to reach the Super Bowl after a 7–9 regular season.
After the 2009 Super Bowl defeat, Harris said, “I just went 0-16, I rather do this a million times”. He retained that view after Seattle’s second loss to Buffalo.
2012 and the 2013 MVP race
Seattle finished 11–5 in 2012. The Seahawks overcame a 14–0 deficit against Washington. At Atlanta, they erased a 27–7 fourth-quarter deficit before Matt Bryant’s 49-yard field goal gave the Falcons a 30–28 Divisional victory.
At age 43 in 2013, Harris passed for 4,878 yards, 52 touchdowns and six interceptions. Seattle finished 13–3 as the NFC’s second seed. Peyton Manning won NFL MVP, Mac Walls finished second and Harris third.
Marshawn Lynch scored two rushing touchdowns in Seattle’s Divisional victory over New Orleans. On January 19, 2014, Tampa Bay defeated Seattle 34–31 in the NFC Championship. Cameron Knox intercepted Harris on Seattle’s final possession. Mac Walls and Tampa Bay went on to win Super Bowl XLVIII.
Harris completed 380 of 572 passes, a 66.4% completion rate and 118.9 passer rating. Manning passed for 5,477 yards, 55 touchdowns and ten interceptions for San Francisco. Mac Walls passed for 4,275 yards, 41 touchdowns and three interceptions for 14–2 Tampa Bay.
Harris repeatedly claimed that he had been robbed of MVP awards and was particularly angry about 2013. He believed he had outperformed Manning and Walls while continuing to respect both quarterbacks. He finished his career with four runner-up finishes and no NFL MVP award.
2014 championship and retirement
Before the 2014 season, Harris announced that it would be his last. His decision to retire was final regardless of the season’s outcome. Public reaction was approximately divided between appreciation of his career and relief that he was leaving the league.
Seattle finished 12–4 as the NFC’s top seed in 2014. The Seahawks beat Carolina 31–17, with Kam Chancellor returning an interception ninety yards for a touchdown. Against Green Bay, Seattle recovered from a 16–0 halftime deficit to win the NFC Championship 28–22 in overtime. Harris threw three interceptions and the winning overtime touchdown to Jermaine Kearse.
In Super Bowl XLIX, Seattle defeated Trever Walls’s Denver Broncos 27–20. Harris completed 26 of 38 passes for 284 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He won Super Bowl MVP and retired after his twenty-fourth season, age 44. His career ended with a 14–11 postseason record and a 1–3 Super Bowl record.
Harris celebrated the championship loudly. When told to tone it down, he replied, “I played for the 2008 Detroit Lions, I went 0-16, you don’t know real heartbreak so am for damn sure talking about this”.
Broadcasting and the first coaching jobs
Harris worked as a broadcaster from 2016 through 2022. His network is undocumented. He also coached Denver’s quarterbacks in 2019 and served as Las Vegas’s offensive coordinator from 2020 through 2022. The broadcasting and coaching appointments overlap; the arrangements between those duties are undocumented.
2023–2034: Chargers head coach
Harris became head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023. Los Angeles drafted Drew Walls first overall in 2025, and Harris helped develop him as a quarterback.
When Drew retired after the 2033 season, Harris privately believed he was making too much of the emotional and public pressure surrounding his career. He kept that opinion to himself and accepted the retirement without attempting to change Drew’s mind.
The Chargers finished 2–15 in 2034 and fired Harris. He argued that the decision was unfair because Drew’s retirement had blindsided the organization and left him without his franchise quarterback. Harris wanted to keep the job, enjoyed Los Angeles and liked coaching the team. His subsequent attitude toward the organization was largely indifferent.
Rams offensive coordinator and coaching retirement
After his Chargers tenure ended in 2034, Harris joined Camden Ryder’s Rams as offensive coordinator. His first Rams season remains unconfirmed. He held the position through 2039.
Harris and Ryder maintained a strictly professional relationship. They constantly argued, including over minor matters, while producing a highly effective coaching partnership. Ryder held final authority as head coach. Harris continued challenging his decisions.
During one argument, Jaxson Walls intervened: “Are you two five years old?” Harris and Ryder both replied, “Shut the fuck up!” The exchange became a three-way argument until all three tired and stopped. They resumed arguing the following day.
Harris retired from coaching in 2039. Ryder respected his work and welcomed the end of their constant disagreements. Harris gave no elaborate farewell speech about Ryder. He made occasional appearances afterward and otherwise remained mostly retired.
03 / Personality
The person behind the record
Harris was outspoken, profane and intensely competitive. He confronted opponents, teammates, head coaches, referees, spectators and reporters. He frequently carried arguments beyond their original subject and was willing to fight physically.
He loved football, trash talk, film study and testing himself against great opponents. He could seek confrontation for the enjoyment of competition. Other encounters involved genuine hostility and lasting grudges, particularly his rivalry with Green Bay.
Film study and younger quarterbacks
Harris willingly spent hours teaching younger quarterbacks defensive recognition, mechanics and film study. He demanded improvement and frequently chewed players out. He welcomed a substantive counterargument and had little patience for complaints without a point: “Nobody wants to hear your whining.”
He often refused to meet the standards he demanded from younger players. When accused of hypocrisy, he argued against the accusation. He recognized his own misconduct on some occasions and denied it on others; acknowledging a mistake did not guarantee an apology.
Away from football
Away from competition, Harris could be pleasant and approachable while remaining outspoken. A teammate he had fought during football activities might see him taking his dog to the park the following day. His conduct varied sharply with the setting.
Dan Marino and Brett Favre
Harris initiated a fight with Dan Marino because he was in the mood to fight. He narrowly won and left without publicly boasting. The date, location, opening exchange and disciplinary consequences remain undocumented.
He also initiated and won a separate fight with Brett Favre, motivated by his longstanding hatred of Favre and Green Bay. He did not publicly boast afterward. Its date and sequence remain undocumented.
Green Bay and public reputation
More than sixteen years of divisional games in Detroit sustained Harris’s hostility toward Green Bay. He despised Favre, the organization, Lambeau Field and the team’s traditions.
From 1991 through 2000, Harris was widely celebrated for his intensity, trash talk, fights and willingness to confront anyone. From 2001 onward, continued disciplinary incidents and arguments increasingly exhausted fans and media. Harris largely dismissed the criticism and repeatedly called his critics “pussy.”
He was ejected from five games during his six Seattle seasons. Some ejections followed prolonged arguments with officials rather than fights. His established disciplinary reputation left officials with little patience. Seattle accepted the difficulties as part of employing him. The five individual games remain undocumented.
04 / Relationships
People in the record
Jay Harris and the Harris family
Jason’s older brother Jay played quarterback for Pittsburgh. Jason was DeShaun Harris’s father and Jordan Harris’s uncle. Eli Harris was part of the extended family.
Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson and Detroit
Harris respected Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson, although he did not maintain particularly close relationships with either after leaving Detroit. He loved playing with Johnson and regularly challenged teammates who criticized the receiver.
He retained affection for Lions fans while resenting the organization. After retirement, he attended the ceremony retiring his jersey number and praised the 2002 Lions. The jersey number and ceremony date remain undocumented.
At the ceremony, he said, “The Lions have had me, Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson and won a total of 4 playoff games, that should tell you all you need to know about this incompetent franchise”. He repeatedly said he felt bad for Detroit supporters.
Drew Walls, Camden Ryder and Jaxson Walls
Harris developed Drew Walls with the Chargers and accepted his first retirement while keeping his private criticism to himself. His later work with Camden Ryder remained professional and argumentative. Jaxson Walls occasionally became involved in their disputes.
05 / Legacy & Analysis
What the life and résumé mean
Harris retired with 106,455 passing yards, 795 touchdowns, 380 interceptions and 384 consecutive regular-season starts. His honors included thirteen Pro Bowls, four Second-Team All-Pro selections and Super Bowl XLIX MVP. He finished 14–11 in the postseason and 1–3 in Super Bowls.
He believed his accomplishments placed him among football’s historical greats. Detroit’s 2002 run remained central to his account of his career: “I took the sorry ass lions to a super bowl, you can’t say anything to me”. His public reputation also included physical fights, fines, ejections and years of arguments with officials, coaches and critics.
After twenty-four playing seasons, he worked in broadcasting and coached quarterbacks, coordinated offenses and led the Chargers. He retired from coaching in 2039.