Crowley ISD made it official on Wednesday night by promoting defensive coordinator DeMarcus Harris to the position of head football coach at North Crowley High School.

Harris steps into the role where he replaces Ray Gates, who resigned last month after a wildly successful four year run that culminated in a 2024 6A-Division I state championship. Gates is now on staff at the University of North Texas where he is a special assistant to the head coach and edge coach.

Harris, a native of Pittsburg, has spent the last two seasons as North Crowley’s defensive coordinator, but he does bring head coaching experience to the table where he led Mesquite for three seasons from 2021-2023 and took the Skeeters to the area round of the playoffs in 2021.

Prior to his time in Mesquite, Harris was Cedar Hill’s defensive coordinator for four seasons and he was part of the Longhorns 2020 state finalist team. Harris has also spent time as an assistant coach at Dallas Hillcrest, Little Elm and Arlington Seguin. He played collegiately at Austin College in Sherman.

Expectations remain high at North Crowley. The Panthers have won at least twelve games in four straight seasons and they bring back a strong core that expects to again challenge for a state championship in 2026 under Harris’ watch.