Some NFL players considered Rodney Harrison the dirtiest player in the NFL.
We’re talking about a safety who racked up roughly $200,000 in fines during his 15-year NFL career.
However, Harrison begs to differ. He considered himself a hard-nosed player who played angry, old school football.
The results speak for themselves: Harrison’s take-no-prisoners approach helped him earn two Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots.
Harrison is the only defensive back in NFL history to record at least 30.0 sacks and 30 interceptions in his pro football career.
No wonder he instilled fear in the hearts of quarterbacks in the National Football League.
Harrison’s place in the New England Patriots Hall of Fame prove he’s one of the best safeties in team history.
Early Life
Rodney Harrison was born in Markham, IL on December 15, 1972.
Harrison’s single mother raised him and his two siblings.
He took one of his mother’s sayings to heart when he became a dominant safety on the gridiron.
“My mom always told me, ‘It’s not about your size; it’s about your heart,” Harrison told ESPN’s Elizabeth Merrill in February 2008.
1975 3 years old pic.twitter.com/felM8UBhfk
— Rodney Harrison (@Rodney_Harrison) August 31, 2013
Harrison attended Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, IL.
Even as a youngster growing up in the Windy City, Rodney Harrison always wanted to become an athlete.
Harrison ran up and down the streets in sweltering 100-degree heat during the summer.
People made fun of him during his run. They told him he’d never amount to anything.
“I would be running up and down the street in the neighborhood, and people would laugh at me, saying, ‘Are you crazy? You’re not going anywhere.'” Harrison told SI.com’s Lisa Altobelli in October 2006.”That motivated me.”
From that point onward, Harrison promised himself nobody was going to outwork him.
He didn’t care if the opposition was bigger, faster, and stronger than he was. Even if a 6’6″, 300-lb. opponent stood in his way, he’d get the better of him somehow.
Harrison was a three-sport star in football, basketball, and track for the Marian Spartans. Harrison was such an exceptional athlete that he received all-conference honors in hoops and track.
Harrison was a point guard on the basketball court. He considered himself better at basketball than football.
However, he felt football suited him better: he told SI.com knocking somebody’s head off on the court was already a foul that could result in an ejection.
Football was an entirely different animal. Harrison felt he could show his true personality on the gridiron.
Harrison was a Jack of all trades for the Spartans football team: he was a kickoff and punt return specialist and defensive back.
Spartans head football coach Dave Mattio lauded Harrison for his versatility.
He stood out as a defensive back because of his outstanding tackling prowess. Mattio thought Harrison’s aggressiveness and physicality helped him become an elite defensive stopper.
“He had the ability to decide a ballgame,” Mattio told Chicago Now’s Dan Verdun in March 2017. “He was one of those players that could turn the tide of a game.”
Mattio also coached Mike Prior, a safety who played for the Illinois State Redbirds, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts, and Green Bay Packers.
Mattio considered Harrison and Prior among the best players in Marian Catholic football history.
For Rodney Harrison’s part, he continued laying the foundation for his football career with the Western Illinois Leathernecks.
College Days With The Western Illinois Leathernecks
Many big-name college football programs, including the Ohio State Buckeyes, wanted to recruit Rodney Harrison.
Unfortunately, his test scores didn’t come out until late in the fall. Other universities couldn’t wait for them to come out so they dropped out of the running for Harrison.
However, the Western Illinois Leathernecks patiently waited for Harrison’s test results.
Their patience bore fruit. They eventually offered Harrison a scholarship that he accepted.
Harrison told SI.com he wanted to go to Western Illinois because he didn’t want to end up like his friends who made minimum wage and wound up on the streets.
He prioritized getting a scholarship and education so he could make his mother proud. Western Illinois University provided him with that perfect opportunity.
Harrison earned All-Gateway Conference second-team honors as a true freshman in 1991.
Great picture of the 1991 Freshman Class at Western Illinois. Back row far left is Rodney Harrison…voted 2nd team All Gateway Conference that year. Ya’ll know the rest of the story… #TRADITIONofTOUGH pic.twitter.com/NamaCfMiYv
— Western Illinois Football Alumni (@WIUFBAlumni) December 13, 2018
He became a Second-Team All-American a year later.
Rodney Harrison continued piling up on the accolades as a junior in 1993.
He earned First-Team All-American honors from The Associated Press, Sports Network, and Kodak.
The Leathernecks suspended Harrison prior to his senior campaign in 1994.
Instead of sitting out the entire season, Harrison decided to enter the 1994 NFL Draft instead.
He finished his three-year stint at Western Illinois as the program’s all-time leader in tackles by a defensive back (345). His twenty-eight tackles in a single game are also a school record.
Not only did Rodney Harrison earn a reputation as an elite safety with the Western Illinois Leathernecks, but he also met his future wife on campus.
Harrison was smitten with a girl named Erika. He followed her around campus. Unfortunately, she was dating somebody else, per SI.com.
One day Harrison walked her to their biology class and told her it was canceled. He admitted to Altobelli in 2006 he said it was just for fun.
However, Erika took his word for it and went back to her dorm room.
Unfortunately, the biology professor gave a pop quiz on that day. She missed it and gave Harrison the cold shoulder treatment for a long time.
Despite the setback, Rodney Harrison persisted. She eventually relented and they became a couple. They got married and had four children several years later.
Rodney Harrison, the self-declared family man, went on to enjoy a productive 15-year NFL career with the then-San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots.
Pro Football Career
The then-San Diego Chargers made Rodney Harrison the 145th overall selection of the 1994 NFL Draft.
Harrison told the Talk of Fame Network (via ESPN’s Eric D. Williams) he didn’t care about the fact he was a late-round draft choice. All he wanted was a chance to prove his worth on the football field.
That’s exactly what Rodney Harrison did in his nine seasons in sunny San Diego.
Rodney Harrison was a beast#Chargers ⚡️⚡️ pic.twitter.com/I91X97fpbl
— East Village Times (@EVT_News) February 27, 2016
He joined a Chargers defense that featured legendary linebacker Junior Seau, who he also played with in New England as their NFL careers wound down.
The Chargers went 11-5 in 1994 and reached the Super Bowl for the first time in the franchise’s NFL history.
It was also the first of Harrison’s four career Super Bowl appearances.
Unfortunately, the San Francisco 49ers routed the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX, 49-26.
San Diego went 9-7 and reached the Wild Card Round in the 1995 NFL campaign.
It was the last time the Chargers made the postseason during Rodney Harrison’s nine-year tenure with the team.
Despite San Diego’s playoff misfortunes, Rodney Harrison’s career took off: he became a starter in 1996 and earned two Pro Bowl nods in 1998 and 2001.
During Harrison’s emergence with the Chargers, he earned a reputation as a hard-hitting safety who took no prisoners.
He would eventually bring that reputation with him to the other side of the country.
After the New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI, they regressed in 2002 – the second year of the Tom Brady era.
The Patriots won nine games and missed the postseason for the third time in four years.
All of a sudden, good fortune – specifically two-time Pro Bowl safety Rodney Harrison – came their way.
Bitter at chargers for what ? They did me a favor pic.twitter.com/z7ePigv0mj
— Rodney Harrison (@Rodney_Harrison) August 30, 2016
The Chargers released Harrison on February 27, 2003. He revealed to SI.com’s Paul Zimmerman six months later San Diego thought he was on his last legs.
The Chargers thought his inability to run stemmed from a groin pull he sustained in the 2002 season opener.
At the time, San Diego’s team physicians told him he’d sit out eight weeks. Instead, Harrison sat out just two.
The New England Patriots saw something the Chargers didn’t. They signed him to a six-year contract two weeks after San Diego waived him.
The clincher for Harrison was Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s attention to detail.
Prior to signing with New England, Harrison sat down with Belichick.
The Patriots mentor reminded him of the time he knocked another player’s helmet off during warmups of a Patriots-Chargers matchup in 2002.
Harrison was impressed.
He admitted in the ESPN+ documentary “Man In The Arena” (via NBC Sports’ Nick Goss) Belichick’s little attention to detail sealed the deal for him.
The Patriots had a logjam at safety with the newly-acquired Harrison and Lawyer Milloy, another Pro Bowler.
New England asked Milloy to take a pay cut, but he refused. They eventually released him on September 2, 2003.
That paved the way for Rodney Harrison to excel at safety for the Patriots.
Harrison’s presence in the secondary beefed up a stingy New England defense that led the NFL in 2003.
The Patriots won fourteen games that year and mowed down the opposition in the postseason.
For his part, Rodney Harrison earned a penchant for making the best quarterbacks of all time look bad in crunch time.
Harrison picked off Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve “Air” McNair in the Patriots’ Divisional Round victory.
He then intercepted Peyton Manning and forced a fumble in New England’s controversial 24-14 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game.
Thanks in large part to the addition of Rodney Harrison and a stifling defense, the New England Patriots were back in the Super Bowl.
💯
Reminds me of when Rodney Harrison broke his arm in the Super Bowl & had it in a sling while the confetti fell. pic.twitter.com/xvGi9S2I2n
— Alex Goldberg (@AlexGoldberg_) February 4, 2019
Harrison broke his right arm late in Super Bowl XXXVIII against the Carolina Panthers.
His saving grace was an Adam Vinatieri field goal that propelled New England to a thrilling 32-29 win over Carolina.
After the Patriots beat the Panthers for their second Super Bowl trophy, Rodney Harrison blew up a photo of him celebrating on the gridiron with his arm in a sling.
He hung the enlarged photograph in his basement. That photo was the perfect representation of his career and life.
“Tears are flowing down my face, and my arm is broken,” he told Altobelli in 2006. “It signifies my career and life. There was so much pain and hard work.”
Rodney Harrison had 126 total tackles, 3.0 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and three interceptions in 2003. He became a First-Team All-Pro selection after his first season in New England.
He also had earned the first of his two Super Bowl rings.
It only took Harrison a year to earn the second one.
New England duplicated its gaudy 14-2 win-loss record from 2003. The Patriots took on the upstart Philadelphia Eagles, who were seeking their first Vince Lombardi Trophy, in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Rodney Harrison squashed the Eagles’ title quest when he intercepted Donovan McNabb’s desperation heave on 3rd and 9 in the game’s waning moments.
Rodney Harrison’s game-winning interception in Super Bowl 39#GoPatshttps://t.co/hQKi7EnVri
— Patriots Nation 2 (@Jordanems) January 24, 2018
The Patriots prevailed, 24-21. They had won their third Super Bowl title in four years. Their famous dynasty was in full swing.
As for Rodney Harrison, he enjoyed the fruits of his hard labor dating back to his childhood. Back then, his neighbors ridiculed him for running up and down the streets of Chicago Heights, IL in unbearable heat.
Harrison had the last laugh at that point in his pro football career. He officially became a two-time Super Bowl champion.
After reaching the pinnacle of pro football, Rodney Harrison went through four injury-plagued seasons in New England.
Harrison suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and posterior cruciate ligament after Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Cedrick Wilson fell on his knee during a game on September 25, 2005.
The Patriots placed Rodney Harrison on their injured reserve list for the rest of the 2005 NFL campaign.
Harrison injured his right shoulder in a game against the Indianapolis Colts the following year. He was forced to sit out six straight games.
With Harrison battling injuries, the Patriots averaged eleven wins per year from 2005 to 2006. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get past the AFC Championship Game during that span.
A healthy Rodney Harrison hoped to make up for lost time in the 2007 NFL season.
Alas, the NFL suspended him for the first four games for violating its drug policy.
Harrison told ESPN on September 1, 2007 he never took steroids. However, he admitted to taking “a banned substance.”
That banned substance turned out to be human growth hormone (HGH).
.@Rodney_Harrison talking about being suspended for HGH in 2007 tonight on NBC. pic.twitter.com/FchadyDQQ4
— Christopher Price (@cpriceglobe) December 28, 2015
Harrison admitted his HGH use to a law enforcement source who confided to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.
The source told Mortensen that Harrison began using HGH in 2005 so he could recover from his injuries.
After Harrison served his four-game suspension, he helped the undefeated New England Patriots reach Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants.
Rodney Harrison cried tears of joy when he earned his first Super Bowl ring four years earlier.
In stark contrast, he cried tears of despair after the final down of Super Bowl XLII.
Unheralded New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree made that improbable helmet catch on 3rd down late in the fourth quarter.
Harrison covered Tyree in the backfield but couldn’t prevent the completion.
Tyree’s heroics kept the drive alive for the Giants. Wide receiver Plaxico Burress caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Eli Manning on a slant-and-go route just four plays later.
New York prevailed, 17-14.
According to Spike Lee’s documentary “The Greatest Catch Ever” (via SI.com’s Peter King), Harrison was so distraught he locked himself up in his hotel bathroom and wept like a baby after the game.
Things didn’t get any better for Rodney Harrison in the 2008 NFL season.
He tore his right quad muscle in a regular-season game against the Denver Broncos on October 20, 2008.
The injury bug had bitten Harrison yet again.
The game against the Denver Broncos turned out to be his last in the National Football League.
A banged-up Rodney Harrison announced his retirement from pro football on June 3, 2009.
“I am done, and I am very much at peace with that,” Harrison told ESPN.
NBC also hired Harrison as a football analyst for its “Football Night in America” coverage on the same day he retired.
Harrison said on NBC’s conference call (via ESPN) he didn’t make many friends during his time on the NFL gridiron. He didn’t expect the trend to continue in his sports broadcasting career.
Rodney Harrison had 1,198 total tackles, 30.5 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, 34 interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns in his 15-year NFL career.
Harrison’s 30.5 sacks are the most among defensive backs in league history. His 33 career Super Bowl tackles are also a league record.
Rodney Harrison is also the only defensive back in league history to record at least 30.0 sacks and 30 interceptions in his career.
One thing that has puzzled Harrison is the number of his Pro Bowl appearances. He made it to just two in his storied 15-year NFL career.
His reputation could’ve affected that lofty ambition adversely.
According to Chicago Now, he could very well be the record holder for fines for unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct.
The NFL doesn’t keep tabs on that statistical category. However, if there was one, Harrison would be a frontrunner.
ESPN estimated Harrison racked up an estimated total of $200,000 in fines during his 15-year NFL career.
Sports Illustrated (via ChicagoNow.com) also conducted a poll among NFL players. The publication asked them to name the dirtiest player they ever faced on the gridiron.
Rodney Harrison earned that dubious distinction.
"I was a fifth-round draft choice, I felt like I was always being overlooked. So I played angry." @Rodney_Harrison explains why some considered him to be a dirty player. pic.twitter.com/Qz35czyuSC
— ESPN (@espn) January 31, 2021
He denied the “dirty player” tag his opponents bestowed upon him. In his opinion, they think he’s dirty because he’s an old school football player.
“I’m not dirty,” Harrison told SI.com (via Chicago Now). “I’m a hard-nosed football player. I play to the whistle. I’m not going to be your friend. I don’t want to go to parties with you. I don’t need you. But at the end of the game I’ll pat you on the butt and say, ‘Good game.'”
Post-Football Life
Rodney Harrison and his wife Erika have four children.
Harrison’s son Christian committed to the Tennessee Volunteers football program in November 2021.
Christian Harrison is a cornerback who graduated from Atlanta’s Woodward Academy.
— Rodney Harrison (@Rodney_Harrison) November 29, 2021
The Marian Catholic Hall of Fame inducted Rodney Harrison in 2010.
Rodney Harrison is a member of both the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots 50th Anniversary Teams.
Harrison was inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame in 2019. He’s also a member of the Patriots’ 2000s All-Decade Team.
Harrison announced the Los Angeles Chargers’ third-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. The selection turned out to be Sioux Falls Cougars tackle Trey Pipkins.
After twelve years covering “Football Night in America” inside the NBC studios, Harrison began working on-site along with Jac Collinsworth at the venue of the weekly NBC “Sunday Night Football” game in September 2021.
Harrison and Collinsworth – son of former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver and current NBC “Sunday Night Football” analyst Cris Collinsworth – kick off the show outside the venue with a “College GameDay” feel to it.
They move inside the stadium prior to kickoff and do sideline reporting from there on out.
Testing out the @TaylorMadeGolf #SLDR today. Hope to gain some distance on my drive! pic.twitter.com/GYFPEihQya
— Rodney Harrison (@Rodney_Harrison) November 20, 2013
According to Harrison’s official Twitter page, he likes to play golf in his spare time.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_Harrison
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/
https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=2999994
https://www.chargers.com/news/rodney-harrison-to-announce-chargers-third-round-pick
https://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs07/news/story?id=3226285
https://twitter.com/Rodney_Harrison
https://www.patriotshalloffame.com/hall_of_famer/rodney-harrison/
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