It's very difficult to turn a full rebuild in just one offseason in the NFL, but the Chicago Bears are looking to do just that by building out a star-studded coaching staff surrounding Caleb Williams. That process started with the move to hire former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as the new head coach, and now plenty of talented assistants are following.
On Friday, Johnson hired one of the best defensive position coaches in the league. Former Dallas Cowboys defensive backs coach Al Harris is coming to Chicago to be the defensive passing game coordinator and the defensive backs coach for the Bears, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Harris has built a reputation as one of the best defensive back coaches in the NFL during his time with the Cowboys. Since 2020 when Harris arrived, the Cowboys have developed a ton of very good cornerbacks including Daron Bland, Trevon Diggs and more. Harris also spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs as an assistant working in the secondary from 2013-18.
Harris' experience as a player goes a long way towards making him a very good coach. He played cornerback for 14 seasons in the NFL, spending most of those seasons with the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles. During his career, Harris picked off 21 passes and returned three of them for touchdowns, earning Second Team All Pro honors in 2007.
Harris could join well-renowned defensive coordinator Dennis Allen on Chicago's defensive staff if Allen ends up with the Bears, and the two of them will have a heck of a secondary to work with. Jaylon Johnson has emerged as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL and Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson form a fearsome trio at that position.
With the work that Harris has done with the Cowboys cornerbacks, Bears fans should be extremely optimistic about what their talented secondary can do with Harris coaching them up. This defense already had a lot of upside, but this hire has the chance to take them to another level.
