Barris Grant is in his first season as the Defensive Coordinator at Mercyhurst. In addition to running the defense, Grant will also serve as the linebackers coach.

Grant comes to Mercyhurst after a stint as the Academic Coach for the Play it Smart program run by the National Football Foundation. His responsibilities included conducting study halls and registering students for the NCAA Clearinghouse. During that time, Grant also acted as the Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach for Irvington (N.J.) High School. Grant's 2005 team set the school record for total offense.

Prior to working for the NFF, Grant was the Co-Defensive Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator/Linebacker coach at Division II Benedict College. All three of his teams finished in the top 16 in Division II in defense during his tenure. The 2002 team finished third and had the first winning season in school history. In 2003, Benedict was seventh in team defense. The 2004 squad had the second winning season in the program's history and was ranked 16th in defense.

He also spent one season as the Defensive Coordinator at Irvington High School.

Grant got his coaching start at Division I-A Mississippi State, where he was also a defensive standout as a player. He served as a student assistant for the 1999 team that ranked 23rd in total defense and played in the Independence Bowl. As a player, he was named the Defensive MVP of the Peach Bowl in 2000.

Grant graduated from Mississippi State with a bachelor of arts degree in Educational Psychology in 2002 and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Educational Leadership from Bloomfield (N.J.) College.