Shannon Harris took over the Defenders six days before the 2025 UFL season. His success in the role hasn't surprised his long-time mentor, Fred Kaiss.

The Michigan Panthers and DC Defenders square off in the UFL Championship on Saturday. Jeff Kolb and Jess Nevarez talk with coaches Shannon Harris and Mike Nolan, Panthers quarterback Bryce Perkins and Defenders DE Malik Fisher about the big game.

The United Football League has named former HBCU quarterback Shannon Harris, now head coach of the DC Defenders, as the 2025 UFL Buddy Teevens Coach of the Year. As a former quarterback at Tennessee State, Harris made his mark in 2001. That year, he set a school record for total offense in a season with 3,137 yards.

The DC Defenders, led by quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, defeated the Battlehawks at The Dome at America's Center Sunday, 36-18, to claim a spot in the UFL Championship.

Former NFL player and current D.C. Defenders player, Kelvin Joseph, is facing charges for his involvement in a crash that killed a female motorcyclist on a Dallas-area freeway, The Dallas Morning News reported.