Al Harris

Bears Hire Two New Assistant Coaches

January 24th, 2025 at 7:39pm CST by Ely Allen

Ben Johnson has been working quickly to assemble a new staff in Chicago. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bears‘ new head coach has even contributed to the continued dissolution of the Lions‘ coaching staff, hiring Antwaan Randle El as the team’s new assistant head coach and wide receivers coach. Schefter adds that, while the Bears are still working to fill their defensive coordinator position, Johnson has already poached Cowboys defensive backs coach Al Harris to take the role of defensive pass-game coordinator and defensive backs coach in Chicago.

Randle El, a fairly successful former NFL receiver who made his mark as a return man, retired as a player back in 2011, taking a job as the athletic director at a Christian high school in Virginia that he helped found a few years later. In 2019, Randle El made a return to the NFL as an offensive assistant on the Buccaneers, winning a Super Bowl ring as a coach while assisting his former wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians in Tampa Bay.

In 2021, Randle El was hired under Dan Campbell as the wide receivers coach in Detroit. He’s built a reliable stable for the Lions, forming then-fourth-round rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown into a star wideout, helping first-round receiver Jameson Williams navigate his way back from a nasty torn ACL suffered in his final collegiate game, and helping players like Josh Reynolds, Tim Patrick, and Kalif Raymond make big supportive impacts in Detroit. He’ll now follow Johnson to Chicago, where he’ll inherit a corps that loses Keenan Allen but returns a talented duo in D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze.

It’s strange to see a defensive position coach get hired before a defensive coordinator, but it’s certainly understandable for Harris, who makes a long-awaited return to the NFC North after spending eight years of his 14-year playing career as a Packer. The two-time Pro Bowl cornerback will take the new position in Chicago after five years in Dallas as defensive backs coach (with one of those years also giving him the title of assistant head coach).

Harris’ coaching career started in Kansas City where he worked with a secondary that included Eric Berry, Sean Smith, Brandon Flowers, and Husain Abdullah. His focus on the staff eventually shifted more specifically to cornerbacks as he worked with Smith, Marcus Peters, Steven Nelson, Kendall Fuller, and Orlando Scandrick. After a year as a defensive assistant at Florida Atlantic University, he joined the Cowboys staff as defensive backs coach, where he mentored stars like Trevon Diggs, Stephon Gilmore, DaRon Bland, and several other impact starters. Harris inherits a talented group in Chicago that stars Kevin Byard and features Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, and Jaquan Brisker.

Johnson will continue to build out his staff, with former Saints head coach Dennis Allen being mentioned recently as a strong possibility to fill the defensive coordinator role. Broncos tight ends coach Declan Doyle has also been linked to the new Chicago staff. While he hasn’t coached with Johnson, Doyle worked with Campbell during their four years together in New Orleans. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears “would likely have to give him the (offensive coordinator) title to get him out of Denver,” which may not be very likely. In two years in his current role, Doyle’s tight ends have combined for only 845 yards and nine touchdowns over the two-season span, with no one getting more than 204 yards or three touchdowns.

Johnson was a highly touted head coach prospect, and he’s quickly building a talented staff of popular names around him. Bringing in accomplished position coaches who have formed incredible position groups over the last several years marks a strong start to his first NFL coaching gig. Bears assistants recently announced as not expected to return under Johnson include defensive backs coach Jon Hoke and running backs coach Chad Morton., per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. They follow in the footsteps of former passing game coordinator/interim offensive coordinator/interim head coach Thomas Brown and former defensive coordinator Eric Washington, who were previously reported as not returning.

Coaching Updates: Cowboys, Bears, Vikings, Steelers, Browns

March 23rd, 2024 at 3:22pm CST by Ely Allen

The Cowboys announced a number of staff updates recently. We’ve tracked many of the initial changes to occur with the departure of Dan Quinn and a few assistants across the division to Washington, but with the staff filled out, head coach Mike McCarthy opted to hand out of few promotions.

Firstly, Al Harris, who serves as the team’s defensive backs coach has had the title of assistant head coach added to his title, per Josina Anderson of CBS Sports. Dallas had blocked Harris from interviewing for a lateral move to follow Quinn and opted to sweeten the deal after keeping him from another opportunity. ESPN’s Todd Archer tells us that, also on defense, assistant defensive backs coach Cannon Matthews has been granted the title of safeties coach for 2024, making him a full position coach.

On offense, wide receivers coach Robert Prince has added the role of pass game coordinator to his position. Likewise, Chase Haslett, previously the assistant tight ends coach, will serve as the pass game specialist next season. Lastly, game management and offensive assistant Ryan Feder has replaced “offensive assistant” in his job title with “assistant quarterbacks coach” for the 2024 season.

Here are a few other staff updates from around the NFL:

The Bears made a couple of adjustments to their front office recently. Vice president Corey Ruff was promoted by the organization to senior vice president of strategy and analytics and chief of staff. Chicago also hired Tanya Dreesen as the team’s senior vice president of strategy and global affairs and chief of staff, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2.
We’ve tracked a number of Vikings staff changes throughout the offseason, but we have a new promotion and an update to an earlier report. First, 2023’s assistant quarterbacks coach and chief of special projects Grant Udinski earned a promotion, replacing “chief of special projects” in his job title with “assistant offensive coordinator,” according to Kevin Seifer of ESPN. Udinksi will assist new quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. We had originally reported that former quarterbacks coach Chris O’Hara had been moved to pass-game specialist with McCown’s addition, but we now see that Minnesota has him listed as senior offensive assistant.
The Steelers will add veteran defensive assistant Anthony Midget to their 2024 staff, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. Midget has experience as the Texans former secondary coach and most recently served as the defensive backs coach in Tennessee. After being fired by the Titans following the 2022 NFL season, Midget sat out in 2023. He rejoins the ranks of NFL coaching as the assistant secondary coach in Pittsburgh.
Finally, the Browns will add an intriguing young name in Nick Charlton, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Charlton made history at Maine, where he became the youngest head coach in Division I history at 31 years old. Following a three-year stint with the Black Bears, Charlton accepted the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coaching job at UConn. He’ll leave the Huskies to serve as the new offensive assistant and run-game specialist in Cleveland.

Cowboys Block Commanders From Interviews With Al Harris, Lunda Wells

February 8th, 2024 at 8:35am CST by Sam Robinson

Dan Quinn has agreed to bring Joe Whitt with him to Washington, moving the former Dallas secondary coach up to defensive coordinator. The Cowboys are not allowing their former DC to poach other assistants for lesser roles.

The Cowboys have now prevented the Commanders from interviewing two of their staffers. They are blocking the Commanders from interviewing defensive backs coach Al Harris, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer tweets. This comes after the team nixed a Washington meeting with tight ends coach Lunda Wells, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.

Quinn sought Wells as his next offensive line coach, per Rapoport. Wells, 40, was in place as the Cowboys’ tight ends coach before Quinn arrived in 2021. Mike McCarthy hired Wells in 2020; he previously worked on the Giants’ staff under multiple head coaches.

Harris, 49, also predates Quinn in Dallas. McCarthy brought the former cornerback in as his DBs coach in 2020 as well. Harris had previously worked as a six-year Chiefs assistant under Andy Reid, making a transition into the coaching ranks after a lengthy playing career.

Harris has drawn consideration for the Cowboys’ DC post, but in the days since his name emerged in that mix, the Cowboys have interviewed bigger names. Ron Rivera, Mike Zimmer and Rex Ryan have met with the team about its defensive play-calling gig. They join D-line coach Aden Durde and Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel in the mix for that position. Whitt was believed to be the Cowboys’ initial DC choice, but he opted to follow Quinn elsewhere in the NFC East.

The NFL has moved to prevent teams from blocking staffers at moves to the coordinator ranks in recent years, but while the team could not block Whitt from leaving for Washington (a move that is now official), clubs can still prevent assistants under contract from making lateral moves. Whitt will call the Commanders’ defensive plays, putting Quinn in place as a CEO coach in Washington.

The Cowboys are not standing in the way of multiple other assistants following Quinn, however. They will not nix Commanders interviews with assistant defensive line coach Sharrif Floyd or quality control staffer Pete Ohnegian, Archer adds. A former first-round Vikings draftee, Floyd joined McCarthy’s Cowboys staff in 2023.

Joe Whitt Favorite To Become Cowboys’ DC; Commanders Also Interested?

February 1st, 2024 at 11:08am CST by Sam Robinson

One of Dan Quinn‘s assistants in Atlanta and Dallas, Joe Whitt appears more likely to stay with the Cowboys than follow Quinn to Washington. With Quinn signing on as Commanders HC, the Cowboys are looking inward to replace him.

The Cowboys’ secondary coach for the past three seasons, Whitt has emerged as the lead candidate to take over for Quinn as DC, per the Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken. Whitt has been an NFL assistant since 2007. One year remains on Whitt’s contract, the Morning News’ Calvin Watkins tweets.

Whitt could, however, have two options in the NFC East. Whitt’s past with Quinn would naturally point to the new Commanders leader viewing him as a strong candidate to move to Washington to become its DC. That scenario should not be ruled out, per NFL.com’s Steve Wyche. Quinn is believed to have mentioned Whitt as a DC option during interviews, ESPN.com’s John Keim tweets. The Cowboys would be unable to block that move, as it would be a promotion to a coordinator post, but the team can also offer its own DC job to convince Whitt to stay.

The Cowboys may also have a difficult time hiring a defensive coordinator from outside the organization. Although the team has one of the NFL’s top defensive nuclei, Mike McCarthy will be the rare head coach to enter a season as a lame duck. The Cowboys are not expected to extend their fifth-year HC, whose job security sustained a massive blow after the Packers’ wild-card upset.

Whitt, 45, spent 10 seasons with the Packers (2009-18) before a one-and-done season under Freddie Kitchens in Cleveland. Quinn hired Whitt to be the Falcons’ secondary coach and defensive pass-game coordinator in 2020 and circled back to him upon landing the DC job in Dallas a year later. The Cowboys’ secondary has performed well under Whitt, seeing two cornerbacks — Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland — earn first-team All-Pro acclaim. Diggs became the first cornerback since the Cowboys’ Everson Walls in 1981 to intercept 11 passes in a season, and Bland broke the single-season pick-six record with five this season. The Cowboys have also fixed their yearslong safety issue during Whitt’s time, finding value on three midlevel safety contracts given to Jayron Kearse, Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker.

Defensive line coach Aden Durde also followed Quinn from Atlanta, positioning the England-born assistant to be a DC candidate in Dallas or Washington. Cornerbacks coach Al Harris also stands as an option, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. Durde has also emerged as a candidate for the Rams’ DC job.

If an outside hire is to be considered, the Cowboys have been connected to recently fired Commanders HC Ron Rivera. The latter interviewed for the Eagles’ job that quickly went to Vic Fangio. While this path would allow Rivera to land on his feet, it would be worth wondering if the veteran coach would take a job under a lame-duck HC considering his recent dismissal in Washington. Though, the Cowboys and Commanders effectively trading defensive coordinators would be a fun NFL storyline.

NFC Coaching Turner, Peetz, Linguist, Harris,Whitted

January 30th, 2020 at 7:00pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Norv Turner will not be returning to the Panthers coaching staff, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic. Turner had served as a special assistant to former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera. Rivera, of course, was recently replaced by Matt Rhule and has since taken over in Washington. While nothing has been reported, it would not be a surprise to see Turner follow Rivera to the nation’s capital to work with young quarterback Dwayne Haskins.

At the same time, Carolina blocked running backs coach Jake Peetz from interviewing for other positions, per Albert Breer of SI.com. Breer adds that Rivera wanted to take Peetz with him, but Carolina general manager Marty Hurney valued Peetz and the team decided to reward him with a promotion to quarterbacks coach.

Here’s some more notes from coaching staff’s around the NFC:

The Cowboys hired Texas A&M cornerbacks coach Maurice Linguist to serve as the team’s defensive backs coach alongside Al Harris. Linguist did not have a history with either head coach Mike McCarthy or defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, but his personality impressed the pair so much that they offered him the job on the same day of his interview, according to Dallas Cowboys reporter Lindsay Cash Draper. Harris had been an assistant with Kansas City, but more notably, played under McCarthy during his tenure in Green Bay at cornerback.
Harris’ former team will be making a change at wide receivers coach. According Rob Demovsky of ESPN, the Packers have let Alvis Whitted go and have begun the process of searching for his replacement. Whitted was hired just a year ago to join Matt LaFleur’s staff, but it appears LaFleur will be going in a different direction.

Extra Points: 49ers, Chiefs, Suggs, Pats

April 1st, 2016 at 10:02pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

We learned in late February that 49ers offensive tackle Anthony Davis was set to apply for reinstatement after taking a hiatus from football last season. That still hasn’t happened yet, but Davis tweeted Friday that he’ll file for reinstatement “later this year.” Interestingly, Davis added that “[d]ealing with Trent is giving me a headache.” That’s likely a reference to 49ers general manager Trent Baalke. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders if Davis is trying to goad the Baalke-led Niners into releasing him. The 26-year-old is under 49ers control through 2019.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

The Chiefs announced a slew of changes to their coaching staff Friday, Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star reports. One of the moves was to promote Britt Reid, head coach Andy Reid‘s son, to defensive line coach. Britt Reid was the Chiefs’ assistant D-line coach last season and will take over for Tommy Brasher, whom the team shifted to special projects. The Chiefs also elevated Al Harris from assistant defensive backs coach to secondary coach. He’ll mostly work with cornerbacks, per Paylor. Further, assistant quarterbacks coach Corey Matthaei will add offensive line assistant to his title and assistant linebackers coach Mark DeLeone will take on a greater defensive role. The club also hired Joe Bleymaier (offensive quality control), Taylor Embree (defensive assistant), Mike Smith (assistant defensive line coach), and Devin Woodhouse and Ryan Reynolds (strength and conditioning).
Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs pleaded not guilty Friday to a pair of misdemeanor charges stemming from a one-car accident last month, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Suggs was arrested by Arizona police and charged with driving on a suspended license and failure to notify after striking a fixture. He could face up to six months in jail if found guilty, though Zrebiec notes that this type of violation is usually handled with fines. Some form of punishment from the league is also a possibility for Suggs.
One of Suggs’ ex-teammates, free agent receiver Tandon Doss, ran routes and caught passes at Indiana’s pro day on Friday and is hoping to sign with a team, Tony Pauline of WalterFootball.com writes. Doss caught 26 passes in 29 games with Baltimore from 2012-13. He hasn’t suited up for a game since. Doss’ previous club, Jacksonville, cut him last summer.
In draft news, the Patriots observed two offensive linemen – tackle Clay DeBord and guard Aaron Neary – at Eastern Washington’s pro day, according to Phil Perry of CSNNE.com. Both figure to be Day 3 picks or undrafted free agents.