| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | (1963-10-01)October 1, 1963 (age 61) Corydon, Iowa, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College: | Drake Utah State |
| Career history | |
As a coach: | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
Wade Harman (born October 1, 1963) is anAmerican football coach. Harman used to be the assistant offensive line coach for theAtlanta Falcons, working with veteran offensive line coachMike Tice.[1]
Before being hired by the Falcons, Harman spent most of his career as atight end coach for theBaltimore Ravens. He was fired on January 27, 2014.[2] Harman began his NFL coaching career with theMinnesota Vikings. Until his dismissal, Harman was the longest tenured coach in the Baltimore Ravens organization, and the only coach remaining in the organization from theSuper Bowl XXXV team.
Harman began his coaching career with a one-year contract as a coaches assistant for the Minnesota Vikings. In his first year with the Vikings, the team went 9–7 in the regular season, winning aWild Card berth in the playoffs, before losing the divisional round to theSan Francisco 49ers.
Harman was given a one-year contract extension at the end of the 1997 season, and returned to the Vikings in 1998.[3] The Vikings went 15–1 this year, but lost to theAtlanta Falcons in the NFC Conference Championship, becoming the first 15–1 team to not reach the Super Bowl.[4]
Harman was not re-signed by the Vikings following the 1998 season, and was picked up by the Baltimore Ravens as a tight ends coach.[5]
From 2000 to 2001, Harman's main role was coaching tight endShannon Sharpe. In 2000, Sharpe achieved the longest touchdown pass in NFL history in the AFC Conference Championship.[6] The Ravens would go on to winSuper Bowl XXXV. The next year, Sharpe would become the All Time NFL leader in Passes Caught by a Tight End and would earn a spot in the Pro Bowl.
Sharpe left the Ravens organization following the 2001 season, and Harman was called upon to prepare tight endTodd Heap to take over the starting tight end position. Heap was the leading receiver on the Ravens that year, with 836 yards.[7] Heap was selected for the 2002 and 2003Pro Bowl teams.[8] Harman continued to coach Heap until the end of the 2010 season, when he signed with theArizona Cardinals.
Harman was in charge of coaching Ravens 2010 draft picksDennis Pitta andEd Dickson. Harman was a part of the Ravens staff during theirSuper Bowl XLVII win.[9]
Harman was hired on February 6, 2014, as an assistant offensive line coach. Harman, who worked alongside offensive line coach Mike Tice, helped stabilize a line that lost several starters during the year because of injuries.
On January 25, 2015, Harman was named the tight ends coach for the Atlanta Falcons.[10] He helped makeover the tight end position that the previous year saw a major drop-off in productivity following the retirement ofTony Gonzalez.
In the 2016 season, Harman and the Falcons reachedSuper Bowl LI, where they faced theNew England Patriots on February 5, 2017. In the Super Bowl, the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat.[11]
On January 17, 2019, theDenver Broncos announced that they hired Harman to be their tight ends coach.[12]