Twitter: @coachdamon51 | @calfootball
Instagram: cal_football
Damon Harrington spent four seasons as the head strength and conditioning coach for the Cal football program from 2013-16. Harrington oversaw all aspects of the Cal football strength and conditioning program year-round on a day-to-day basis and supervised five assistant strength and conditioning coaches in his role.
“Damon is one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in college football," said Sonny Dykes, head coach at Cal during the same four campaigns. "He’s the consummate team player and has an outstanding work ethic. He just wants to make the kids better, get the most out of them and develop them. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a group of people that respond better to Damon than our players. The players love him, respect him and work incredibly hard for him. He’s done an incredible job of building our culture in the weight room."
“He has helped our student-athletes make tremendous strides in their strength, speed and fitness,” Dykes added. “In college football today with the amount of time strength and conditioning coaches spend with the student-athletes their roles are as critical and important as anyone on your staff. Damon is exactly who we want in that role. He has a no-nonsense blue-collar personality and demands a lot from players but at the same time cares deeply about them. They have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a person and his knowledge and ability to teach and make them better.”
Harrington was instrumental in the Cal's seven-win turnaround on the field from a 1-11 record in 2013 to an 8-5 mark in 2015 that is tied for the second best in school history behind only the eight-win improvement from a 2-10 mark in 1946 to a 10-1 record in 1948.
Harrington's focus at Cal was on designing a program to prepare the team's players to be as physically and mentally tough as possible in order to play hard for four quarters and make the plays at the end of games that ultimately lead to victory.
The team’s conditioning level paid off with 10 comeback victories from 2014-16 including six in the fourth quarter while the team also won five games determined by plays in the final two minutes including three times on its final play and a pair of overtime contests.
Three of Cal's wins in 2016 came in dramatic fashion at home against nationally-ranked Texas and Utah, as well as Oregon. The Golden Bears trailed the No. 11/16 Longhorns early in the fourth quarter, 50-43, before scoring 15 of the game's final 18 points. The team's defense came through on the game's final play in the Pac-12 wins against the No. 18 Utes and the Ducks. James Looney capped a goal-line stand by tackling Utah running back Zack Moss inches away from the end zone to cap a 28-23 victory while Jordan Kunaczyk picked off Justin Herbert at the Cal 10-yard line to help the Bears hold on in a 52-49 overtime win against Oregon.
Cal trailed in four of its seven regular-season victories in 2015, including twice in the second half and once in the fourth quarter. The most dramatic victory was a 48-46 win over Arizona State in the regular-season finale when the Bears rallied from a 24-3 second-quarter deficit to stage their biggest comeback win since bouncing back for a 42-36 victory at the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl after trailing 21-0. The Bears also rallied for a 34-28 victory over Washington State in 2015 after trailing 21-7 in the second quarter and twice by eight points in the second half. In addition, the Bears trailed in the first half in wins over San Diego State and Texas.
In each of their final three wins of 2014 against Colorado, Washington State and Oregon State the Bears trailed at one point in the fourth quarter. James Langford booted a 34-yard field goal on the final play to lift Cal to a 59-56 double overtime home win over the Buffs while the Bears also won in dramatic fashion at Washington State, 60-59, when the Cougars missed a 19-yard field goal with 0:15 left in the contest. Cal scored the final 18 points in a 45-31 win over the Beavers.
Harrington also implemented the Swagger Games that became a staple of the team's strength and conditioning workouts in January of 2014 during his first full offseason at Cal and in addition to the physical conditioning prowess the team gained the program helped football student-athletes develop a great sense of pride, teamwork and camaraderie, both in and out of the weight room. The program featured football student-athletes incorporating six areas of competition (academic, agility, combative, self-discipline, speed, strength) into a program designed to improve leadership and mental fortitude.
“The response from our players has been great,” Harrington said. “It’s all about developing mental fortitude and toughness as well as leadership. We have seen our players grow and become more of a team since the implementation of this program. We put them into leadership roles and have watched them take control of their teams.”
Harrington credited the staff he built at Cal for much of the success.
“The staff dynamic is awesome,” Harrington said. “It is probably the best I’ve been around. I picture our staff kind of like a quilt. When you look at a quilt every square is just a little bit different but at the end of the day it encompasses a wide variety of things and comes together as one.”
CAL PLAYERS ON DAMON HARRINGTON
“Coach Damon’s a real down-to-earth person. He doesn’t blow smoke. He’ll give it to you the way it is. That’s something I’ve appreciated about my time at Cal. There’s a lot of mutual respect with us and the staff. We work hard but it’s actually fun. We see each other getting the best out of themselves and the team, and it’s a contagious energy.”
– Raymond Davison
“I’ve always viewed Damon as like a father figure and I’ve always enjoyed the relationship and his approach in life. This strength staff, they haven’t just made us better on the strength side but also on the mental side, promoting and transforming us into men, where we can take on different challenges in life and maintain that same kind of focus in everything we do in life, always trying to improve ourselves and support each other to make it through.”
– Fabiano Hale
“I’ve been here going into my third year and I feel like I’ve become really close with Coach Damon and his staff. I feel like I can go to them for any problems – not just strength and conditioning but about anything. They really want you to be comfortable as a player and a person. I have that trust with them and they have that trust with me, so there’s a lot of mutual respect.”
– Chad Hansen
Harrington had two stints as the head strength and conditioning coach at his alma mater Louisiana Tech prior to his arrival at Cal, serving in the role from 2006 through the team’s 2013 spring workouts and also from 2002-03 after spending two previous seasons as an assistant in the Bulldogs’ strength and conditioning program (2000-01). He was also the assistant director of player development at Georgia Tech from 2004-05.
Harrington was instrumental in improving Louisiana Tech’s strength and conditioning program, with Bulldog football players breaking 26 strength records (by position) during his final seven years with the school. During the same period, Louisiana Tech had seven fourth-quarter come-from-behind wins. Harrington and his staff implemented the Dawg Fight Program, which incorporated ATTITUDE, TEAM, DISCIPLINE, TOUGHNESS and EFFORT, during his time at Louisiana Tech.
Harrington began his collegiate playing career at Louisiana Tech as a walk-on in 1995 before earning a scholarship for his 2017 sophomore season. He started every game at linebacker during his final two campaigns and combined to make 243 tackles in those two seasons with 121 stops as a 1998 junior and 122 during his senior season in 1999. Harrington earned All-Louisiana honors both campaigns, while also being named to the All-Independent team by Football News as a 1999 senior.
Harrington earned his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana Tech in fitness and wellness in 2000 and completed his master’s degree from the school in sports science in 2002. Harrington holds a certification in strength and conditioning from the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa).
Harrington and his wife, Meg, have one son, Luke, and one daughter, Addie.
Damon Harrington File
Birthdate: September 17, 1977
Hometown: Elkton, MD
High School: Elkton HS
College: Louisiana Tech, 2000, Bachelor’s in fitness and wellness; Louisiana Tech, 2002, Master’s in sports science
Family: Wife, Meg; Son, Luke; Daughter, Addie
Collegiate Coaching History
Season: Team – Position
2000: Louisiana Tech – Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach
2001: Louisiana Tech – Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach
2002: Louisiana Tech – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2003: Louisiana Tech – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2004: Georgia Tech – Assistant Director of Player Development
2005: Georgia Tech – Assistant Director of Player Development
2006: Louisiana Tech – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2007: Louisiana Tech – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2008: Louisiana Tech – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2009: Louisiana Tech – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2010: Louisiana Tech – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2011: Louisiana Tech – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2012: Louisiana Tech – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2013: Cal – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2014: Cal – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2015: Cal – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
2016: Cal – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Bowl History (6 Games)
Season: School – Bowl Game
2001: Louisiana Tech – Humanitarian Bowl
2004: Georgia Tech – Citrus Bowl
2005: Georgia Tech – Emerald Bowl
2009: Louisiana Tech – Independence Bowl
2011: Louisiana Tech – Poinsettia Bowl
2015: Cal – Armed Forces Bowl
*Season in which bowl game was played
Last Updated
July 12, 2017
