Ben Johnson was given some advice by Dan Campbell before leaving the Detroit Lions to finally become a head coach. It was simple and straightforward: Nothing was more important than building a good staff. Johnson took that to heart. One thing he learned during his time in the NFL was that there were different ways to build a staff. Probably the most common was a head coach bringing in people he was familiar with, either by reputation or guys he’d worked with before. Johnson didn’t want to do that. He felt it capped the staff’s ability to excel because there were no dissenting voices and no differing opinions.
So the Bears head coach took a deliberate approach over the past month to find guys he respected but didn’t know him personally. The final result was one he was pleased with. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is certainly one of the highlights. However, Johnson was asked on Waddle & Silvy if there were any assistants he landed that he didn’t think he could land. It turns out there were two of them.
One was wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El, and the other was defensive passing game coordinator Al Harris.
Ben Johnson knew what both men brought: results.
As he says in the clip, the true mark of a good coach is how their players perform. When it comes to Randle El and Harris, the proof is out there for anybody to see. Amon-Ra St. Brown has made three Pro Bowls in Detroit, while Jameson Williams cracked 1,000 yards for the first time last season. In Dallas, two of Harris’ proteges, Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland, became All-Pros. Anthony Brown and Jourdan Lewis also had career-best seasons under his watch. Landing those two coaches could yield immediate results considering how talented the Bears are at both wide receiver and defensive back.
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Ben Johnson is right to feel the way he does. Normally, head coaches from the team you’re leaving don’t like if you steal their assistants. So, it was nice for Campbell to give his blessing on Randle El. As for Harris, it was a simple case of his contract expiring. Dallas didn’t move fast enough to retain him, and the Bears took advantage. Not something you hear with this team too often.
