Bears bring Harris back to coach
Chris Harris is back for his third go-round with the Bears, but this time he’ll be coaching, not playing.
Harris, 30, a sixth-round pick in 2005 out of Louisiana-Monroe, was hired Monday as a defensive quality control coach on new head coach Marc Trestman’s staff. He had tweeted his intention to retire as a player over the weekend. The Bears also hired Dwayne Stukes as the assistant special teams coach and Sean Desai (defensive quality control).
Harris spent eight seasons as a safety with the Bears (2005-06 and 2010-11), Carolina Panthers (2007-09), Detroit Lions (2011) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2012). He had 422 career tackles, 16 interceptions, 13 forced fumbles, 9 fumble recoveries and 37 pass breakups in 101 games, including 88 starts.
Harris was traded to the Panthers by the Bears for a fifth-round draft pick during training camp in 2007 and then traded back to the Bears after the ’09 season for linebacker Jamar Williams.
In his first year back with the Bears, Harris was an Associated Press second-team all-pro, as he tied for the team lead with 5 interceptions and was fourth with 96 tackles. He played part of last season with the Jaguars under defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, who was hired for the same job with the Bears on Jan. 18.
Stukes served on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ coaching staff for six seasons (2006-11), the last as special teams coordinator. In 2009 and ‘10, Stukes was Tampa Bay’s assistant defensive backs coach after serving as special teams quality control coach in 2008. He joined the team as a coaching assistant in 2006.
Desai joins the Bears after spending one season as the running backs/special teams coach at Boston College.