Malik Muhammad Is Already Becoming a Coaching Priority for the Bears

The Chicago Bears don't have many true position battles this year, but one of the more important ones is at cornerback. Jaylon Johnson is, of course, the No. 1 guy in that room. The starting nickelback job belongs to Kyler Gordon, though Ben Johnson sounds frustrated over his injury issues at OTAs. But the second boundary cornerback spot is up for grabs, and rookie Malik Muhammad may seize that role sooner than expected.

During the Bears' second day of minicamp practices, defensive backs coach Al Harris was "all over" Muhammad for a minor mistake, according to Bears beat reporter Herb Howard. "Coach Harris continues to be all over Malik Muhammad," Howard wrote on X. "He seemed to make a mental error out here, kind of in group individual session. Coach Harris got all on him. He coaches all his guys hard, but like I said during around Rookie Minicamp, he seems very invested in Malik's development, and what he thinks he could be. Coach is on his [butt] for every little detail! Good players want that kind of coaching."

Malik Muhammad is no ordinary fourth-round draft pick

As aforementioned, the CB2 spot on the Bears' depth chart is currently wide open, and Tyrique Stevenson's rough OTA practices opened the door for Malik Muhammad to earn a starting job straightaway. He still has things he needs to work on, and he could stand to add a good deal of muscle to his frame, but Muhammad is no ordinary fourth-round draft pick.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles made a rare draft trade-up to add Malik Muhammad to his secondary, and that alone speaks volumes as to how they view the former Texas cornerback. You don't trade up for prospects unless you truly believe that they can become great NFL starters.

Coach Harris seems to share this view, based on the extra attention he's paying to the rookie. Coaches don't harp on a player for no reason, after all. If he's getting after Muhammad for a typical rookie mistake, it means he sees greatness in Muhammad and he wants the young man to reach his full potential as a player.

The Bears have the right coaches, but does Malik Muhammad have the right attitude?

Al Harris is coaching Muhammad hard. Harder than any other defensive back on the roster, and that should be exciting for Bears fans. That's the same approach that head coach Ben Johnson took with Caleb Williams last year, and it paid off in spades. However, this approach to coaching only works if the player has the right attitude and is receptive to harsh but fair criticism.

As Herb Howard noted, good players want that kind of hard coaching. Williams wanted to be coached hard by Ben Johnson, got his wish, and now he's thriving. But not every player can handle that much heat. These rookies are all some of the best in the world. Up until now, they've likely spent their entire lives being vastly superior to their teammates and opponents at every level, and that inevitably produces a strong ego.

But now they're in the NFL, and they need to check their ego at the door. They have to be receptive to being nitpicked over tiny details because the margins for error at this level are infinitesimal. Some guys just aren't able to handle that kind of coaching, and they're the ones who never reach their full potential.

Hopefully, Muhammad is not one of those guys. If he has an inner drive to be great, then Al Harris' style is exaclty what he was hoping to get. Iron sharpens iron, and Bears fans will have to hope that they finally have a good cornerback to pair with two-time Pro Bowler Jaylon Johnson.

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