The Chicago Bears have a history of bringing back Chris Harris as a player and now they’re interested in doing it again, only this time as a coach.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Bears have requested to interview Harris, who is the defensive backs coach for the Washington Commanders. It’s their second interview request for a defensive coach following their reported interest in Green Bay Packers defensive backs coach Jerry Gray.
The Bears have requested permission to interview Commanders defensive backs coach Chris Harris for a defensive position, per source. As a player, Harris was a sixth-round pick of Chicago in 2005 and played four seasons there. His name has come up for potential DC jobs, as well.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 20, 2023
Harris is no stranger to Chicago. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft and became a key starter for the Bears during the peak Lovie Smith years from 2005 to 2006. He was traded to the Carolina Panthers after two seasons, but came back to Chicago in 2010 in another trade as they made the playoffs once again, with Harris earning second-team All-Pro honors that year.
The reunion was short lived, however, as Harris lasted another half a season before he was released and officially retired in 2013. He immediately went into coaching and wound up back with the Bears for two seasons as a quality control coach from 2013-2014 during Marc Trestman’s tenure.
From there, Harris climbed the coaching ranks. He was the assistant defensive backs coach for the Los Angeles Chargers from 2016-2019 and joined Ron Rivera’s staff in Washington as their defensive backs coach in 2020. Harris has been a rising star since then, getting looks for defensive coordinator positions over the last couple of years.
Now, another return to Chicago could be on the horizon for Harris. The Bears have an opening on their coaching staff as defensive backs and cornerbacks coach James Rowe left the team to coach at the University of South Florida, but the exact title and position he would interview for has yet to be determined. Either way, the Bears are doing their homework on candidates and there could be more interview requests on the way.
