Bear Digest

The Bottom Line to Bears Retaining or Losing Current Assistants

It's still possible the Bears could lose DBs coach Al Harris, but coaching structure is the key and they have the right one in place to replace anyone.
Gene Chamberlain|
Declan Doyle will apparently return to the Bears for 2026 according to report, but Chicago is set up well to replace anyone because of its coaching structure.
Declan Doyle will apparently return to the Bears for 2026 according to report, but Chicago is set up well to replace anyone because of its coaching structure. | Photo: Chicago Bears Video

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Chicago Bears

When the Bears were leading the NFL in rushing near the end of a 3-14 NFL season, social media filled with great angst about how they might lose offensive coordinator Luke Getsy to a head coaching job.

No, really. After all, he did get an interview for one before he even called a Bears play. Even with so much yardage coming via the simple, easily stopped method of Justin Fields' legs, some people feared one team might steal away Getsy.

There was also gnashing of teeth over what could happen if they lost Declan Doyle or Al Harris or Eric Bieniemy, as well, and they did lose Bieniemy to a Kansas City offensive coordinator reboot after Matt Nagy and the Chiefs offense went into a downward spiral this season.

But Doyle is coming back to the Bears for a second straight season, apparently, because Dianna Russini of The Athletic has reported he withdrew his name from consideration for Eagles offensive coordinator.

This is a job it seems with a stack of those who are saying  "thanks but no thanks."

Doyle wasn't calling plays in Chicago and he won't again, but will continue to set the table so to speak, and organize the offense for Ben Johnson while overseeing Caleb Williams' development.

There is great public perception the Eagles could be in Nick Sirianni's final  season and who wants to join a staff for a year, anyway? Don't bet against Eagles GM Howie Roseman to find out and address what ails the Eagles anyway. He always does, and it's probably more talent-based than Sirianni.

As for the other Bears coaching development Al Harris' name  keeps popping for interview rumors but the Packers didn't hire him and the idea he could join the Steelers as coordinator sounded good on the surface because of his past ties with McCarthy as a DB in Green Bay and as an assistant on his Dallas staff.

However, no one has reported an interview for  him with McCarthy and now there are rumblings of former Bears head coaching candidate Anthony Weaver being a potential Steelers defensive coordinator candidate after he had interviewed for the head coaching job there.

A perfect place for Harris to be a coordinator would be with a young defensive side head coach or experienced defensive side head coach like Robert Saleh, because he doesn't have the experience of calling defenses himself and gradually can work into it.

If McCarthy hires Harris as defensive coordinator, he's taking a huge risk when there are plenty of defensive side coaches with coordinator and even head coaching experience available. Imagine the reaction in Pittsburgh if he comes in, the Steelers can't get to the playoffs after they had a winner in Mike Tomlin, and it's the defense that costs them.

All of this goes back to one thing that Bears fans need to remember when it  comes to losing assistants to coordinator jobs or coordinators to head coaching jobs. Connections count and experience counts more—successful experience counts most.

Neither Doyle nor Harris have done those jobs before and they might be excellent at it, but a head coach needs to know he can count on someone who has been a proven success doing his job, particularly if it's an area of expertise other than his own.

It's how the Bears wound up with Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator.

Losing supporting coaches is not an easy thing, but they can always be replaced, and a head coach who knows what he is doing can easily find someone who can do it, anyway. A good head coach knows who good coaches are. It's the coordinators that are more difficult spots to fill and especially the ones responsible for calling offensive or defensive plays.

The Bears are not in position to lose coaches like  that now, and would have their play caller even if Doyle had left.

The Bears are aligned perfectly after finding the ideal head coach and defensive coordinator after the 2024 season, until proven otherwise. Teams misaligned or with less desirable or ineffective coaching situations are not their concern now.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.