Coaches can have a significant impact on a player's career, and one coach stands out to Chicago Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright, helping him succeed with the team.
Wright has only been on the team for one year, and it feels as though that has drastically impacted his career. Everyone knows about the incredible turnovers he has created, but his on-field performance out of nowhere has to have come from someone to help him out.
Many people credit Bears defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach Al Harris for the coaching job he has done on Wright. Even the fifth-year veteran would agree and told the media what it has meant to him to work with Harris.
“Teams gave up on me. It’s cool to have someone like that who believes in you.”
Wright added that he'd love to spend the rest of his career being coached by Harris.
Harris has transformed Wright's career in one season
Before the 2025 season, Wright had only five pass deflections and one interception in 33 career games with the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings. That's four seasons of him trying to make his mark on the NFL and fighting for a starting spot, and only doing it twice.
This season has been a completely different story as Wright has become the playmaker Bears fans did not see coming. In 12 games, Wright has racked up 54 tackles, 10 pass deflections, five interceptions, three tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, one quarterback hit, and one touchdown.
Wright is starting to get the love he has deserved as his head coach, Ben Johnson, gave him one of the game balls after the Bears beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-15 in Week 13. The NFL also gave Wright the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for his November performance, which included three interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble.
Harris has not been a stranger to Wright, as the two worked together on the Dallas Cowboys early in Wright's career. That bond has brought them both together to Chicago in their first years with the Bears, impacting the team in more ways than one.
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The city of Chicago is indebted to Wright and Harris for the immediate impact they have made on the Bears and for helping them go from a 5-12 team to a 9-3 team. That's a pair that is destined to be together for a long time, and Bears fans hope that will be right here in the Windy City.