When we think about coaching the Cowboys, we jump to Mike McCarthy and Mike Zimmer, possibly John Fassel as well. Yet, one coach is doing such a good job with his unit, we should talk about him a bit more.
Al Harris was a two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro during his playing career with the Green Bay Packers. In addition to being the secondary coach, he was promoted to assistant head coach for the Dallas Cowboys this offseason after Dan Quinn left to take the Washington Commanders job.
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Not Talked About Enough
I don’t think enough is said about the great work Harris has done with this secondary. Losing Harris would have been worse than losing Dan Quinn.
Dallas has ranked in the top three in turnover differential in each of the last three seasons and led the league in interceptions in 2021. Retaining Harris helps maintain some level of continuity for a unit that consistently performs.
The way Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland have gotten after the ball the last couple of years is amazing.
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Jourdan Lewis looked awesome in training camp this summer, getting his hands on the ball like crazy.
Nothing should change with how great the backend of the defense is, and Harris should get a lot of credit for that.
With a standout training camp performance and the Cowboys welcoming All-Pro Trevon Diggs back into the starting lineup, the Cowboys have one of the top defensive backfields in the league.
Future With The Cowboys?
If this season doesn’t go the way we all hope it will and if this front office decides to go in a different direction with a handful of players and coaches, keeping Al Harris on the staff has to be a priority.
He has really turned this secondary into something special. I hope it doesn’t come to this, but say this team struggles and does not make the playoffs in 2024; does Harris have a future as the Cowboys head coach?
I would probably like to see him as a defensive coordinator before he gets that chance, but who knows?
Mike Zimmer now runs the defense, but Harris is still the assistant head coach for this football team. That says something about his development since he joined the staff.
Development Of Young Talent
Diggs, Bland and Lewis are the trio, but another name to keep an eye on is Caelen Carson. The Cowboys drafted him in the 5th round of this years draft and it sounds like he has already won over the trust of Al Harris.
“It’s like a blank canvas,” Harris said when asked what he likes the most about Carson.
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“A lot of times when you get older guys you have to break them out of bad habits or tolerate bad habits. When you get the younger guys, the newer guys, who are talented, but – not to throw stones at their coaches – haven’t been taught the things they are being taught here, that’s what I like.”
Carson was solid at Wake Forest. He had 26 pass breakups in four seasons. Yet he only had three career interceptions. He has the right coach in Al Harris to try to improve his ball-hawking skills.
“That was a big thing when I got here,” Carson said. “Al just talking about, ‘Touch the ball, touch the ball, touch the ball’, so that’s been our whole mentality.”
Carson more than likely has a leg up on Nahshon Wright, Eric Scott and Eric Butler. So he may be able to find himself some snaps this season if teams start to air it out.
I am doing everything I can to talk myself into thinking this team will repeat as NFC East champions. It is hard, though.