The Life and Times of Joey Harrington
Intro
Hello everyone, my name is Jared Weathers and welcome back to another Lifes and Times video. This time we are discussing former Lions Quarterback Joey Harrington. From getting drafted #3 by Detroit to retirement and everything in between. This is Life and Times of Joey Harrington.
Early Life
Joey Harrington was born October 21st, 1978, in Portland, Oregon. Graduating from Central Catholic High School, Harrington finished his high school career with more than 4,200 yards and 50 touchdowns rushing and passing. Harrington’s grandfather and father both played QB for the Universities of Portland and Oregon, and upon hearing of Joey’s birth, legendary Oregon Ducks’ coach Len Casanova jokingly sent his parents a letter-of-intent.
College Career
Harrington attended the University of Oregon. His first year, he played 2 games with 1 throwing attempt and a 0.0 passing percentage. In 1999, the starting QB of the Oregon Ducks got drafted as a Senior, A.J Feely won the starting position before being sidelined with an elbow injury and backing up Joey Harrington. He played 8 games in his second season winning the Sun Bowl vs The Minnesota Golden Gophers 24-20. Harrington took the Ducks to the Holiday Bowl winning vs The Texas Longhorns 35-30. After A.J. Feely got drafted, Harrington took the #2 Oregon Ducks to the Fiesta Bowl vs the #3 Colorado Buffaloes winning 38-16. Harrington was one of the five Heisman Trophy finalists, losing to Eric Crouch, the Quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
NFL Career
Harrington was selected #3 in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. Taking over the QB position from current Lions QB Mike McMahon. In 2002, Harrington’s first year, he played 14 games, completing 215 throws off of 429 attempts, throwing for 2,294 yards and bringing in the lowest QB rating he ever had in the NFL at 59.9% ending the season 3-13. In 2003, Joey Harrington established the Harrington Family Foundation as a non-profit. During the 2003 season, Harrington completed 309 completions off of 554 attempts with a 63.9% QB Rating ending the season 5-11. The 2004 season was Harrington’s best year as a Lion throwing for 19 touchdowns and 3,047 yard ending the season 6-10 and missing the playoffs for the fifth season in a row. During the 2005 season, Steve Mariucci decided to sit Harrington for Jeff Garcia. After this season, Harrington was traded to the Miami Dolphins on May 12th, 2006, for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2007 draft. Harrington backed up Dolphins QB Dante Culpepper for the first four games of the season. Harrington lost his first 3 starts but went on a wild winning streak after beating the unbeaten Bears 31-13 and won four consecutive after this. Capping off this winning streak by beating his former team, the Detroit Lions, with a 27-10 victory at Ford Field. Miami ended the season 6-10. On April 9th, 2007, Harrington agreed to a two-year 6 million Dollar contract with the Atlanta Falcons and need to compete with D.J. Shockley and Chris Redman to back up Michael Vick. Harrington was elevated to starting QB after Michael Vick had been suspended for the 07 season. After going 0-2, Atlanta signed quarterback Byron Leftwich as a potential replacement for Harrington. Atlanta went 4-12 and on March 5th, 2008, the Falcons released Harrington, he was resigned by the team and released again in August after the preseason. Harrington signed with the New Orleans Saints as a third string QB and was released 5 days later. On October 1st, Harrington resigned but was cut again 5 days later. He resigned with the saints on October 12th, 2008, as an inactive third string QB. On March 30th, 2009, Harrington was re-signed to a one-year deal by the Saints and was released again on September 5th, 2009. Harrington would not sign with another NFL team.
After Football
Harrington was a guest on the February 2nd, 2008, episode NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me as a guest during the not my job segment. In 2009, Harrington worked as an NFL and college football commentator for Fox Sports Radio. In 2010, he served as a color analyst for the Oregon Ducks. Currently, Harrington is a college football analyst for Fox College Football on FX and FOX.
My Thoughts
I’ve done this before with Tim Couch. I do think Joey could have done better but we cannot overlook the simple fact that the Lions ownership did not give him or Jeff Garcia the tools to succeed. I think if Harrington was drafted by a different team in 02, I think we would be discussing him in a different light. Also, these teams like the Lions and Browns put high expectations on the players when they really usually need better coaching.
