Bear Digest

Bears' Rival Looking to Poach Key Assistant from Ben Johnson's Staff

The Chicago Bears took the NFL by storm in 2025, and that caught the attention of teams in need of coaches.
Pete Martuneac|
Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin via Imagn Content Services, LLC

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Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears' 2025 season brought an end to several shameful streaks for the franchise. They won their first NFC North title since 2018, won their first playoff game since 2010, and beat the Packers twice in one year for the first time since 2007. It was a banner year for this long-suffering franchise, and the fans now have to adjust to this new reality in which the Bears are one of the top teams in the league.

This is, of course, a positive thing, but there are some downsides to being good. For one, Chicago won't be picking in the 2026 NFL draft until No. 25. For two, other teams want what they've got, which means some position coaches will be hired away. It's already begun with the Chiefs hiring Eric Bieniemy as their new offensive coordinator, and it's only going to get worse.

In fact, we could already be at a worst-case-scenario for Chicago. ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed on Wednesday that the Green Bay Packers interviewed Chicago's defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Al Harris for their vacant defensive coordinator role. Their former defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, is the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

What's more, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reported on his X account that the Washington Commanders are also interested in Harris for their own defensive coordinator opening.

Bears fans will have to get used to change

It's hard to overstate what a mammoth loss this would be for the Bears. Coach Al Harris has been a critical part of this rebuild, despite being here for just one year so far. His position group was decimated by injuries, yet the backups stepped up in a big way all season. The Bears also led the league in interceptions, another testament to Harris' coaching.

Losing Harris would be bad enough, but losing him to the Packers would be a double-whammy. And don't miscalculate where Harris' loyalty lies, Bears fans. He may be a Bears coach now, but as a player, he spent eight seasons with the Packers and was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 2021. If offered the defensive coordinator job, do not doubt that he would take it.

Al Harri
Tom Lynn, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC

As a silver lining, this is a good problem for the Bears to have. For years, no one has had any desire to hire Bears assistants. But now that Chicago is making playoff runs, everyone wants a piece of that success. This is the price of admission to the upper echelon of NFL teams, and Bears fans will just have to get used to it.

The ball will soon be in Ben Johnson's court. Can he overcome the adversity of coaching turnover? Can he assemble another winning staff and continue to develop good coaches? This is another huge test of Johnson as a head coach. I believe he's ready for it, but only time will tell.

Ben Johnso
David Banks-Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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