With multiple teams seeking a defensive coordinator, Bears defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Al Harris has turn into a preferred candidate. He’ll interview for the Titans’ defensive coordinator opening on Saturday, Josina Anderson of The Exhibit reports. The 51-year-old previously met with the Packers and Commanders.
Harris, who enjoyed a protracted and productive playing profession as a cornerback from 1997-2011, went into coaching as an intern with the Dolphins in 2012. The 2-time Pro Bowler has regularly climbed up the ranks since then.
Before heading to Chicago this season, Harris assisted with NFL secondaries in Kansas City and Dallas. Harris has cut his teeth working with achieved coordinators in Bob Sutton, Mike Zimmer, Dan Quinn and Dennis Allen.
The Bears’ pass defense ranked an underwhelming twenty second in 2025, but they’d to navigate many of the season without two of their best cornerbacks, Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. Although Johnson and Gordon combined to miss 24 games, the Bears racked up an NFL-best 23 interceptions during an NFC North-winning campaign. Safety Kevin Byard earned a Pro Bowl nod, while corner Nahshon Wright unexpectedly forced seven turnovers (five INTs, two fumbles) after the previous Cowboy and Viking settled for a modest one-year deal in free agency last offseason.
Unlike the Bears, the Titans struggled mightily to generate turnovers in 2025. Tennessee’s defense took the ball away 14 times, the fifth-lowest total within the league, and in addition finished near the underside in yards (twenty first) and points (twenty eighth) allowed. Just a pair days after becoming the Titans’ head coach, Robert Saleh fired defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson on Thursday.
While Saleh now has his eyes on Harris for the D-coordinator post, he’ll also consider longtime colleague and current Cowboys line of defense coach Aaron Whitecotton. The Titans have requested an interview with Whitecotton, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
Saleh and Whitecotton have worked together at multiple stops. It began when the 2 were on Jacksonville’s defensive staff from 2014-16. Then the 49ers’ defensive coordinator in 2020, Saleh hired Whitecotton to educate the D-line. Saleh then brought Whitecotton to Latest York when he became the Jets’ head coach in 2021. The Jets fired Saleh in October 2024, but Whitecotton finished the yr in Latest York. After the Cowboys fired Matt Eberflus on Jan. 6, Whitecotton was among the many interviewees for his or her DC gig. They hired Christian Parker as a substitute, leaving Whitecotton’s future up within the air after only one season in Dallas.
While Harris and Whitecotton don’t have any D-coordinator experience, that’s not a requirement for Tennessee. Saleh has already made it known he’ll call the defensive plays in 2026. That ought to make it easier for a first-time coordinator to regulate to the role.