Legendary South Florida football coach Tim ‘Ice’ Harris steps down at Florida Memorial
Tim “Ice” Harris Sr., who won three state titles at Booker T. Washington then left for Florida Memorial University in 2019 to help restart the university’s football program, is stepping down at Florida Memorial after two seasons.
Pierre Senatus will take over as the interim coach at South Florida’s only historically black college or university, the school announced Wednesday, and the athletic department will begin a national search for Harris’ replacement.
“We respect Coach Harris’ decision to step down and certainly wish him well in the future. The University appreciates him being the first head coach after the 62-year hiatus with our football program,” athletic director Jason Horn said in a statement. “As we begin the next chapter, our focus remains to build a championship-level program.”
Harris has more than 25 years of coaching experience, all in Miami-Dade County and primarily at the high school level. He led the Tornadoes to state titles in 2007, 2012 and 2013, and won a mythical national championship in 2013. He then joined the Miami Hurricanes’ staff and spent three seasons as the running backs coach in Coral Gables from 2014 to 2016 before returning to Booker T. Washington.
Harris also spent four years as Miami’s assistant director of football operations from 2008-2011 and made additional coaching stops at Northwestern, Miami Central and Miami High.
The coach’s three years in at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics program were dogged by a variety of challenges, beyond just building a new team from scratch after a 62-year hiatus. In his first season, the Lions played only three games because of the COVID-19 pandemic and former athletic director Ernest T. Jones briefly suspended Harris for an unspecified “disciplinary issue” before Jones resigned a few days later amid scandals over the school’s mishandling of the coronavirus and sexual misconduct claims, reported by HBCUGameday.com. After the COVID-shortened season, Harris returned for a second year in 2021 and led Florida Memorial to a 2-9 record, including a 2-2 finish after an 0-7 start.
Senatus, who takes over on an interim basis, has a long history with Harris. He spent the last two seasons as Florida Memorial’s defensive line coach and defensive coordinator, and previously was an assistant of Harris’ with the Tornadoes. He also coached at Hialeah, Miramar and was at McArthur before Harris hired him to his staff in 2020.
