Shannon Harris, the interim head coach of the DC Defenders, became the first HBCU alum to coach a professional football team in the United States to a league championship title.
Harris, a former Tennessee State quarterback, led the DC Defenders to a dominant 58-34 win over the Michigan Panthers in the 2025 UFL Championship Game at The Dome at America’s Center on Saturday.
Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu earned MVP honors after throwing for 390 yards and four touchdowns, Athlon Sports reported. Another Tennessee State alum Chris Rowland added 69 all-purpose yards in the victory, the report added.
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Days before the season began, Harris took over as interim head coach after Reggie Barlow left. Harris in his speech after the victory praised Barlow for doing the necessary preliminary work to ensure success for the team.
“I’d say these guys here, man, the coaching staff, support staff, I mean, everybody’s been on the same page since day one, since taking over, and, again, we just rattle it around each other, and it continues to just be us, we, and ours, so these guys, I mean, I can’t thank them enough for the effort they put into this, the resiliency that we had throughout the course of the year. We have some great fans back in D.C., we want to do it for them as well, and God is amazing, man, God is amazing, and I’m very grateful,” Harris said postgame.
“We owe a lot to Coach Barlow,” Harris added. “It came down to not just a one-man show. It came down to us, we and ours, and that’s been the motto for us the entire season. We’re going to do this together.”
The Defenders finished 6-4 in the regular season and went on to win their historic title. Ahead of that week, the league named Harris as the 2025 UFL Buddy Teevens Coach of the Year.
Shannon Harris becomes first HBCU alum to coach a U.S. professional football team to a league championship
