James Harris ( quarterback ) James Larnell " Shack " Harris ( born July 20 , 1947 in Monroe , Louisiana ) is a senior personnel executive for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League . He is also a former collegiate and Professional Football quarterback , and a former vice president for player personnel of the Jacksonville Jaguars . College football career . Harris played college football for the Grambling State University Tigers from 1965 to 1968 . Under the guidance of head coach Eddie Robinson , Grambling won or shared all four Southwestern Athletic Conference ( SWAC ) titles while Harris was a player and he was named MVP of the 1967 Orange Blossom Classic . Professional Football career . Buffalo Bills . Harris was drafted in the eighth round of the Common Draft by the American Football League ' s Buffalo Bills , and would soon join fellow rookie O . J . Simpson in the starting backfield . Continuing the American Football League ' s more liberal ( than the NFL ' s ) personnel policies , the Bills made Harris the first black player to start a season at quarterback , thus Harris became the first black quarterback to start a game in the history of the National Football League . Harris was also just the second black player in the modern era to start in any game as quarterback for a professional football team . Wide receiver Marlin Briscoe , of the AFL ' s Denver Broncos , had been the first to start a game at quarterback in 1968 , and a few of Harris ' s completions in 1969 went to Briscoe , who , by that time , had been traded to the Bills and had been converted to the position of receiver . After three years with the Bills , Harris was released by the team and signed by the Los Angeles Rams in 1972 . Los Angeles Rams . In 1973 , Harris was the understudy to veteran John Hadl as the Rams went 12 - 2 and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1969 . As the 1974 season began , the Rams offense sputtered under Hadl and the team stood at 3 - 2 after five games . In an effort to spark the Los Angeles offense , Rams head coach Chuck Knox promoted Harris as the starting quarterback . In his starting debut for the Rams against the San Francisco 49ers , Harris completed 12 of 15 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another as the Rams won easily , 37 - 14 , at the Los Angeles Coliseum . Two days later , Hadl was then traded to Green Bay , and Harris became the Rams ' first - string quarterback for the remainder of the 1974 season . The football world was stunned by the bold move . However , Harris came through by leading the team to seven wins in its last nine regular season games . He led the team to its second straight NFC Western Division title , and their first playoff victory ( 19 - 10 over the Washington Redskins ) since 1951 . Harris then became the first African - American quarterback to start and win an NFL playoff game . The Rams lost the NFC Championship Game to the Minnesota Vikings 14 - 10 , as the Vikings were aided by some controversial officiating . Harris was named to the NFC Pro Bowl team in 1974 and was awarded MVP of that game . The strong - armed Harris was somewhat stymied by Ram coach Knox ' s conservative , " run - first " offensive philosophy , but still helped lead the team to another division title in 1975 . However , he injured his shoulder very early in the Rams ' Week 13 win over the Green Bay Packers ; backup Ron Jaworski then led the Rams to wins against Green Bay and the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers , as well as to a 35 - 23 win over the St . Louis Cardinals in the divisional playoff game . Stating that a " player cannot lose his starting job due to injury " , Knox named Harris the starter for the NFC Championship games vs . Dallas , as he appeared to be recovered from his injury . Harris ' first pass was intercepted , and after one more incompletion and a Dallas 21 - 0 first quarter lead , he was pulled in favor of Jaworski . It didn ' t matter as Dallas went on to a 37 - 7 win . Harris ' injuries continued to give him problems in the 1976 season . The Rams went with three quarterbacks ; Harris , Jaworski , and rookie Pat Haden from USC . With Harris injured , Jaworski opened the season as the starter and was injured in the opener . Haden led the team to a comeback tie against the Minnesota Vikings in the second game . Harris , with his throwing shoulder mended , reclaimed his starting job and led the team to two wins , including a 436 - yard passing performance against the Miami Dolphins . However , in the next game , on Monday night at home against the San Francisco 49ers , Harris was sacked 10 times and re - injured his shoulder as the Rams were shut out 16 - 0 at home for the first time since moving to Los Angeles . The Jaworski / Haden platoon led the team to two more wins , then Harris returned again for a win over the then - first - year Seattle Seahawks and a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals . Against the Bengals , however , Harris played poorly , and Knox was forced by Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom to go with Haden , who is white , as the starter for the rest of the season . The Rams won three out of four and the NFC West division title in spite of the change . Knox was forced to go with Haden in the 1976 playoffs , even though Harris was healthy enough to see action late in the season , including a season - ending comeback win over the Detroit Lions . However , Knox had to restrict the Ram offense to compensate for Haden ' s inadequacies ( Haden was 5 - 10 and could barely throw the ball fifty yards downfield ) . The Minnesota Vikings took full advantage of this in the NFC title game and easily beat the Rams 24 - 13 to advance to Super Bowl XI . Ironically , despite his benching , Harris finished the season as the NFC ' s top - rated passer . It was the first time a black quarterback ever led his conference in that category . San Diego Chargers . Harris was traded to the San Diego Chargers prior to the 1977 season . The experience with the Rams hurt him . " I lost my passion , " he said in the book Third and a Mile . " Coach Knox was supportive but the owner ( Rosenbloom ) was going over his head . " As a quarterback , I had done all I could , more than most people could , and it still wasn ' t enough for the Los Angeles Rams organization to accept me as a quarterback , not a black quarterback , " he commented . The Rams acquired the aging Joe Namath ( who eventually played only four games for the team ) and went with the limited Haden again and once again were eliminated by the Vikings at the Los Angeles Coliseum in December of 1977 as Haden ' s hands were too small to grip the football in the rain of that soggy afternoon . When he left the Rams , Harris had the highest career completion average of any quarterback in team history ( 55 . 4 % ) and had been an integral part of three straight NFC West Champions . Harris was understandably jolted by the trade from a perennial playoff team to a team in rebuilding mode . He had lost his first - string position with the Rams because of racism , and he was traded to a team that already had a young first - string quarterback in Dan Fouts around whom they were building . Harris played in San Diego for three years , starting a total of 11 games , primarily when Fouts was injured . Front office career . Prior to his job in Jacksonville he served as the Baltimore Ravens pro personnel director from 1997 to 2003 . Harris served as the vice president for player personnel for the Jacksonville Jaguars . He resigned on December 23 , 2008 . He also served on the NFL subcommittee on college relations . On February 2 , 2009 , the Detroit Free Press reported that the Detroit Lions were set to hire Harris as a personnel executive . On February 12 , 2009 , the Detroit Lions officially named Harris as Senior Personnel Executive . Lions General Manager Martin Mayhew has a long history with Harris , and indicated he was the only individual who was offered the job . Harris will assist in all areas of player personnel in an advisory role . Honors . Harris has been inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame , the Grambling Athletic Hall of Fame , and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame .