The Pittsburgh Steelers made news on Saturday afternoon when it was announced they were hiring Mike McCarthy as the next head coach of the franchise, replacing Mike Tomlin. The former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach returns to the NFL after a year off.
Now, he will assemble a staff and try to get the Steelers’ franchise back to the playoffs and Super Bowl. As McCarthy starts to build his staff, there’s a chance he could look at Chicago and the Bears’ coaching staff. One Steelers insider hinted at that on Saturday night as well.
Will Mike McCarthy look at Al Harris for coaching staff?
As the news of McCarthy taking the head coaching job in Pittsburgh, one Steelers’ insider believes the head coach will look at Chicago’s staff. Beat writer Mark Kaboly took to Twitter on Saturday saying to keep an eye on Al Harris for McCarthy’s Staff:
“I’d keep a keen eye on Al Harris coming in as the Steelers defensive coordinator. Harris is currently the DB coach/defensive pass game coordinator with the Bears.”
I’d keep a keen eye on Al Harris coming in as the Steelers defensive coordinator. Harris is currently the DB coach/defensive pass game coordinator with the Bears.
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) January 24, 2026
Harris was on McCarthy’s staff in Dallas serving as defensive backs coach, so the two have a history together. It makes a lot of sense for McCarthy to target Harris right away.
That would be a tough loss for the Bears as Harris led a secondary that finished first in the NFL in interceptions, including the league leader Kevin Byard this season. He also coached a unit that saw Nahshon Wright play well and others step up as they had injury issues.
But this also wouldn’t be shocking to fans or head coach Ben Johnson.
He mentioned during Wednesday’s press conference that he is already seeing requests from other teams to his staff members for coaching jobs. Johnson welcomes those requests.
“I see future head coaches on this staff, I see future coordinators, I see these young coaches being future position coaches,” Johnson said. “I see that across the board. So, when you have success and you win games, normally that’s what happens. I know we already have some slips coming through that other teams would like to interview some of our guys. And I’m all for it, man. I want these guys to continue to ascend, anything I can do to help them out.”
Harris has had other interviews already this offseason for defensive coordinator positions including Green Bay and Tennessee.
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