CHICAGO — Ben Johnson is making progress building his staff two days after he was introduced as coach of the Chicago Bears.

The former Lions offensive coordinator is bringing two assistants with him from Detroit. Antwaan Randle El, the Thornton High product who starred in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, will be on Johnson’s staff, multiple sources said. It’s believed Randle El will be the wide receivers coach.

Also coming from the division-champion Lions is J.T. Barrett as quarterbacks coach. Barrett, 30, who played at Ohio State, was the assistant quarterbacks coach for the Lions the last two seasons. In 2021, he was an offensive assistant in Detroit.

Randle El (2001, Indiana) and Barrett (2016) were winners of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, awarded annually to the Big Ten’s best player.

The Bears also are expected to hire Al Harris — who was a nemesis for them when he was a Green Bay Packers cornerback — as a secondary coach. Harris, 54, spent the last five seasons as a secondary coach for the Dallas Cowboys and has been mentioned as a possible coordinator candidate the last few seasons.

Randle El, 43, who threw a touchdown pass to Hines Ward as a member of the Steelers in Super Bowl XL, has been in coaching since 2019. He started with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and moved to the Lions in 2021 where he worked with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and others.

It’s likely the Bears will retain special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, but the team has yet to announce any staff additions.

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