UPDATE: Tim Harris Jr. officially named FSU Pass Game Coordinator, WRs coach

Late Thursday afternoon, Florida State officially named Tim Harris Jr. the Seminoles’ new Pass Game Coordinator and wide receivers coach.

Here is the official release from FSU:

Florida State has hired Miami native and veteran coach Tim Harris Jr. to be the program’s pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach, FSU head coach Mike Norvell announced Thursday.

Harris has spent three of the previous four years at UCF, most recently serving as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2024. He was the Knights’ co-offensive coordinator for the 2021 and 2022 seasons and served as the offensive coordinator at FIU in 2021. Harris also has experience as the offensive coordinator and head coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Miami.

“I am so very excited about the addition of Tim Harris Jr. to our staff,” Norvell said. “He has an incredible track record in the development of elite playmakers throughout his career. Tim will be able to provide leadership to his players and our staff with his past experiences as an offensive coordinator and head coach. Tim’s connections as a Miami native and being part of one of the great football families in South Florida will be a benefit in bringing the stars of the future here at FSU.”

In 2024, Harris coordinated the nation’s No. 7 rushing offense and No. 16 total offense as the Knights averaged 248.1 yards per game on the ground, the highest average in the Big 12, and 447.8 yards of total offense per game. In addition to leading the Big 12 in rushing, UCF also ranked in the top five of the conference in total offense, first downs gained and passing yards per completion.

First-team All-Big 12 running back RJ Harvey shined with Harris coordinating the offense. Harvey ranked in the top five nationally in all-purpose yards, points per game, rushing yards per game, rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns and points scored per game. Wide receiver Kobe Hudson’s average of 16.38 yards per reception was the conference’s seventh-highest average.

“I’m excited to join one of the storied programs in college football,” Harris said. “I’m also looking forward to the opportunity to work with Coach Norvell, who is one of the top offensive minds and leaders in college football, and join Coach Malzahn again. We have worked together two other times and have that familiarity with one another that will allow us to hit the ground running. I can’t wait to get started with our players to help them develop into elite playmakers in an exciting offense.”

Harris spent the 2023 season as Miami’s running backs coach. The Hurricanes averaged 176.8 rushing yards per game and reached 200 yards on the ground five times. In 2022, as co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach at UCF, he helped the Knights reach the AAC Championship Game with an offense that averaged 469.6 yards per game, the nation’s 16th-highest average, and ranked seventh in the country with an average of 228.4 rushing yards per game. That year, second-team all-conference performer Isaiah Bowser’s 16 rushing touchdowns were second in the conference and 14th in the country.

In 2021, Johnny Richardson averaged 96.9 all-purpose yards per game to rank seventh in the conference. Bowser capped the 2021 season by rushing for 155 yards and two touchdowns as part of a 288-yard rushing performance by the Knights in their win over Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl.

Harris spent the 2015-20 seasons on staff at Florida International, first as running backs coach and then as offensive coordinator. He helped oversee the best stretch in FIU history as the Panthers won a program-record nine games, including the Bahamas Bowl, in 2018 one season after tying the previous record with eight wins in 2017. FIU qualified for a bowl game every year from 2017-19, the longest streak in program history. The 2019 team earned FIU’s third straight bowl trip with a 30-24 win over Miami, the first win over an ACC team in school history.

In 2020, with Harris serving as offensive coordinator and running backs coach, D’vonte Price led the conference with his average of 6.84 yards per carry and ranked 11th nationally with an average of 116.2 rushing yards per game. The 2019 offense was paced by future NFL running backs Anthony Jones and Napoleon Maxwell. Jones produced three consecutive 100-yard rushing games, only the second such streak in program history, and Jones and Maxwell both broke the 100-yard mark in a win over Charlotte. It was only the seventh time FIU produced two 100-yard rushers in the same game and the fifth time it occurred under Harris’ leadership.

FIU’s 2018 offense was one of the most successful rushing attacks in Conference USA. The Panthers scored a school-record 27 rushing touchdowns and broke the single-season program record by averaging 4.8 yards per rush while posting a top-three ranking in the conference in total rushing yards, rushing yards per game, rushing touchdowns and yards per rush. The 2017 offense gained 5,100 total yards and scored 333 points, both the second-highest totals in program history, and led the NCAA with a 97.6 percent scoring rate in the red zone.

Before beginning his collegiate coaching career, Harris spent six seasons at Booker T. Washington High School in Miami. As the head coach in 2014, he led the Tornadoes to a perfect 14-0 record, the 4A state championship and a No. 2 national ranking by USA Today. He was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Football Coach of the Year, the Miami Dolphins George Smith South Florida High School Football Coach of the Year, the NIKE Football State Coach of the Year and a finalist for the U.S. Army All-American National Coach of the Year.

Harris was Booker T. Washington’s offensive coordinator from 2009-13. He helped the Tornadoes win state titles in 2012 and 2013 and earn the national championship in 2013 with an offense that averaged 41.9 points per game. He also served as the head track and field coach from 2010-14, leading Booker T. Washington to the 2A state championship in 2014 after a runner-up finish in 2013. He was named the 2013 Miami-Dade County Boys Track & Field Coach of the Year.

Harris was a four-time All-American and six-time ACC champion while competing for Miami’s track and field team. He still holds the program’s indoor 800-meter record and was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.

Harris earned his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts with a concentration in English and creative writing from Miami in 2008. He and his wife, Nicolette, have one son, Timothy, and one daughter, Tailor.

Tim Harris Jr. Coaching History

2025-               Florida State Pass Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach

2024                UCF Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach

2023                Miami Running Backs Coach

2021-22          UCF co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach

2020                FIU Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach

2015-19          FIU Running Backs Coach

2014                Booker T. Washington High School (Fla.) Head Coach

2009-13          Booker T. Washington High School (Fla.) OC/WRs Coach/QBs Coach

FIRST REPORT

Gus Malzahn already hired one familiar face to help try to turn around the Florida State offense.

Now, he has made it two.

The new FSU offensive coordinator is reuniting with former UCF assistant Tim Harris Jr., hiring him to be the Seminoles’ passing game coordinator and receivers coach, Warchant has confirmed with a university source.

It was first reported by Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports/247 Thursday morning that Harris would coach the Florida State receivers. But Warchant has confirmed he will have the expanded role of passing game coordinator, as well.

Harris replaces former receivers coach and FSU alum Ron Dugans, who was one of three coaches fired by head coach Mike Norvell on the day after the Seminoles’ blowout loss at Notre Dame in November.

Malzahn has now hired Harris three times in the last four years. First, he hired him in 2021 to be his co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach at UCF. After two years, he was hired away by Miami before the start of the 2023 season.

Then, in January of 2024, Malzahn hired Harris back to be his offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at UCF.

And now, he’s hired him again, this time to join the Florida State offensive staff.

Harris, a University of Miami alum, has also coached at Florida International University and before that at Booker T. Washington High in Miami, the last year (2014) as the school’s head coach. His team went undefeated that season and won the state championship with a 56-35 win over Jacksonville Bolles in the title game.

He was the running backs coach at FIU for six years and the offensive coordinator for one before teaming up with Malzahn for the first time in 2021.

Earlier this week, Malzahn hired longtime assistant Herb Hand to be his new offensive line coach. The pair coached together at UCF, Auburn and earlier in their careers at Tulsa.

Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans on the Tribal Council.

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Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans on the Tribal Council.