With all the success that the Chicago Bears had during the 2025 campaign, many fans across the Windy City are wondering who could be departing Ben Johnson’s staff this offseason.
Thus far, there’s been one departure, RBs coach Eric Bieniemy, who returned to Kansas City to be the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator. However, the Bears aren’t out of the woods yet, as offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and DBs coach/passing game coordinator Al Harris have received interview requests from other teams.
Harris appeared to be one of the first coaches likely to leave the Windy City this offseason, thanks to the Bears’ secondary's performance in 2025.
However, it hasn’t happened for Harris. The Bears DBs coach interviewed for the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator vacancy but didn’t get it, and was passed over for another DC job on Monday night.
Washington Commanders Hire Daronte Jones as DC Instead of Al Harris
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Washington Commanders are finalizing a deal with Minnesota Vikings DBs coach/defensive passing game coordinator Daronte Jones to make him their new defensive coordinator.
Harris reportedly interviewed for the Commanders’ job last week. With Washington now out of the picture, the Bears' position coach doesn’t have many other viable DC options available to pursue.
As of right now, the only other team Harris interviewed with was the Tennessee Titans for their defensive coordinator vacancy. However, it's unclear if he’ll get that job, as Titans head coach Robert Saleh is also considering two other candidates for the role.
There’s also the possibility that the Pittsburgh Steelers could submit a request for Harris, with Mike McCarthy signing on to be the new head coach, but all is quiet on that front thus far.
With all that said, it seems likely the tides are slowly turning in the Bears’ favor of Harris remaining in the Windy City for at least one more season.
Bears fans will be happy with that plan, as it means Harris gets another year to work with Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, and Zah Frazier, who has the skills and upside to be a contributor on this defense in 2026.
They also hope that the plan includes working with Kevin Byard III, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Nahshon Wright, who are scheduled to become free agents this season. At the same time, it's puzzling not to see Harris hired yet, as he clearly gets the most out of his DBs wherever he is.
But at the end of the day, those teams made their choice, and hopefully it works out. In the meantime, the Bears will happily continue to work with Harris as they try to make even more noise on defense in 2026.