Harris spent one year in charge of Burton then moved to former side Distillery in a purely managerial capacity. He was appointed manager of Swansea Town in 1934 and soon after arriving at the Vetch Field signed his son John, a defender, from Swindon Town. Incidentally, Neil's brother Joshua ('Jack') was also a professional footballer, who played for several years with Leeds United among others; however, they were not related to Joe Harris, also from east Glasgow who played for Partick and Newcastle in the same era.