Larry Farris worked more than 15 years as an assistant coach before taking over at Erwin High School in 1984. He accepted the head football coaching duties for a program that had only been to the state playoffs twice in school history.

His 1988 team finished with a 10-2 record and became the first team in school history to win ten games in a season. That record would stand until the 2011 Center Point squad went 11-2.

His nine teams at Erwin went a combined 55-44 and reached the playoffs a total of six times.

In 1993, Farris moved to Mortimer Jordan to take over the football program. Over the next five seasons his team finished 38-17. The 1995 team went 12-1 with an undefeated regular season. The perfect regular season was a first in school history, while the twelve wins ranks as the most ever at Mortimer Jordan.

Farris stepped down following the 1997 football season. His replacement at Erwin in 1992 had been Hal Riddle. His replacement at Mortimer Jordan was also Riddle.

Coach Farris ended his head football coaching career with a combined 93-61 record in 14 seasons at the helm of Erwin and Mortimer Jordan.