Former Green Bay Packers defensive back Al Harris has quickly climbed up the NFL coaching ladder, and now he’s been promoted to one of the top assistants on the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport posted on X on Tuesday, March 19, that Harris had been promoted to assistant head coach and defensive backs coach.
Among the news in the #Cowboys coaching staff announcement is this: Al Harris has been promoted to Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs.
Harris, 49, previously was exclusively the Cowboys’ defensive backs coach since 2020, developing the likes of Trevon Diggs and Da’Ron Bland.
Head coach McCarthy and Harris had a previous relationship during on the Packers, where the two worked together from 2006 through 2010 during McCarthy’s first few seasons as an NFL head coach. Now, the two will continue working closely together to keep developing Dallas’ impressive secondary.
The Cowboys will be leaning on that secondary to continue coming away with crucial turnovers after former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn left for a head coaching opportunity with the Washington Commanders. Instead, it will be veteran coach Mike Zimmer taking over on defense, who will be asking a lot of the team’s defensive backs in his quarters coverage scheme.
FanSided’s The Landry Hat called the promotion the “biggest win of free agency thus far,” noting that McCarthy is entering his “lame duck” year.
“The team blocked him from interviewing for a position on Dan Quinn’s staff in Washington, which spoke to the high regard they hold Harris in,” Jerry Trotta wrote on March 18.
Al Harris’ Playing Career
Before he was one of the hottest names in the NFL coaching world, Harris was a dominant cornerback for more than a decade, even if it took him some time to find his footing.
A sixth-round pick out of Texas A&M-Kingsville in the 1997 NFL draft, Harris bounced around the league in his first few seasons, spending time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles before finally landing with the Packers in 2003.
Harris quickly became a household name for the Packers. In his first season with the team, he came away with an iconic game-winning interception against the Seattle Seahawks in overtime of the NFC wild-card game after Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck infamously told the referee that his team would score after winning the coin toss.
The electric cornerback eventually became a two-time Pro Bowler and was a second-team All-Pro selection in 2007. He was eventually released by Green Bay in 2010, finishing his NFL career with brief stints in Miami and St. Louis before retiring.
Harris finished his NFL career with 21 interceptions, 143 pass deflections and 3 defensive touchdowns. He was eventually named to the Packers Hall of Fame in 2021 alongside former teammate Charles Woodson.
Mike McCarthy’s Hot Seat
Despite the exciting news for Harris as he continues to establish himself as an NFL coach, McCarthy has a big target on his back heading into the 2024 season.
The Cowboys have looked like an unstoppable force at times in the regular season, going 12-5 in three consecutive years with plenty of momentum heading into the playoffs. However, McCarthy has gone just 1-3 in the postseason as the team’s head coach, including a 48-32 blowout loss to his former team in the Packers this past year.
There were public calls for McCarthy to be fired following another early playoff exit, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones decided to stick with the veteran head coach.
Now, it will be up to McCarthy to help lead his team to a deep playoff run for the first time as Cowboys head coach, or else this could be his final season in Dallas.
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Ex-Packers Pro Bowler Promoted to Mike McCarthy’s Top Assistant