Mike Zimmer keeping Al Harris on the Cowboys defensive coaching staff

Keeping Al Harris seemed like a priority for Dallas Cowboys.

The Dallas Cowboys are holding on to one of the better assistant coaches in the NFL. Defensive backs coach Al Harris will be returning to the team in 2024.

One of the first questions answered during Mike Zimmer’s opening press conference with Mike McCarthy was whether Harris would return to the defensive coaching staff. Zimmer put to rest any speculation of his departure and shared his excitement about working with Harris.

The former 15-year player spent most of his career in Green Bay with McCarthy as his coach, so sticking around for another year with his guy isn’t out of the ordinary, but it was a question.

The Washington Commanders requested an interview with Harris for their coaching staff under Dan Quinn, but the Cowboys denied the request, intending to keep Harris around if both parties wanted it that way. Harris jokingly expressed on the Adam Schefter Podcast that he would follow Quinn to Alaska if he took a job there to show his loyalty and appreciation for Quinn.

Harris joined the Cowboys in 2020 when McCarthy took over as head coach. Before his time in Dallas, Harris spent 11 years coaching between professional and collegiate levels.

He’s helped shape the careers of Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland to make one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL. Since 2021, no cornerbacks in the NFL have had more interceptions than Diggs and Bland. Their continued development under Harris will be exciting to watch.

Fans threw around Harris’s name after Quinn left for Washington as a potential replacement as defensive coordinator. He never got an interview with the Cowboys. Still, Harris can learn a lot from Zimmer to continue developing his coaching skills and one day become a defensive coordinator either in Dallas or elsewhere.

With all of the Cowboys defensive coaches already in new homes across the league, fans should be happy to hear Harris is the one who is sticking around.