The Chicago Bears' pass rush hasn't been as stout this season. Their secondary, however, has been elite at creating turnovers. Despite a myriad of injuries, defensive backs coach Al Harris always has them ready to play.
That's why, after another game with multiple takeaways, it's starting to look like it's just a matter of time before Harris leaves the Windy City. Given his extensive background of success as a defensive backs coach, he might be ready to take a bigger challenge as a defensive coordinator somewhere else.
DB Coach Al Harris Has Been Great For The Bears
With ten games under their belt, the Bears are leading the league in takeaways with 22, including 15 interceptions. Safety Kevin Byard III leads the league with five picks, followed by LB Tremaine Edmunds and CB Nahshon Wright with four apiece. Jaquan Brisker and Tyrique Stevenson also have one apiece.
The Bears are +16 in the turnover differential battle, and this isn't much of a coincidence given the presence of Harris on the sidelines. During his tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2013-18, Kansas City had the second-most takeaways (165) and third-most interceptions (98) with Harris as an assistant defensive backs coach.
After that, Harris helped the Dallas Cowboys' secondary rank 2nd in the league in both takeaways (138) and interceptions (82) between 2020-24 when he was their defensive backs coach. Under his guidance, he helped Trevon Diggs log a franchise-record 11 interceptions and DaRon Bland set the NFL record for most pick-sixes in a single season (5). That's not casual; that's coaching.
Harris clearly knows how to get to his players and has helped almost every single one of them improve their ball-hawking instincts. They become elite at identifying QB tendencies and getting ahead of the route to anticipate throws.
The former cornerback has a long and extensive coaching background. While the Bears are giving up the ninth-most passing yards per game (231.3), he has helped a banged-up and below-average secondary defense flip the field at least a couple of times per game.
Ben Johnson was aware of Harris and his expertise after their time together with the Miami Dolphins. With Harris continuing to make a positive impact at every stop on his résumé, any team would be foolish not to give him a chance to be their next defensive coordinator. Unfortunately, unless the Bears part ways with Dennis Allen, that's not going to happen in Chicago, and his days in the Windy City might already be numbered.