The Chicago Bears‘ staff is beginning to come into view after new head coach Ben Johnson made his first significant on Sunday.
Johnson added former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen as the team’s defensive coordinator on January 26.
“Sources: The [Bears] are hiring former [Saints] head coach and respected guru Dennis Allen as their new defensive coordinator,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported via X. “The favorite to join coach Ben Johnson’s staff since Johnson’s hire, Allen adds experience and a top-notch DC to Chicago.”
Allen has six years of head coaching experience in the NFL, leading the Las Vegas Raiders (then of Oakland) from 2012-14 and the Saints from 2022-24. His record as a head coach is 26-53, as each of those organizations fired him midway into his third season, respectively.
Allen also has seven seasons as a defensive coordinator under his belt — one with the Denver Broncos (2011) and six with the Saints (2016-21).
Ben Johnson Also Made Decision on Offensive Coordinator Sunday
GettyChicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson.
Who Johnson decided to hire as defensive coordinator was always going to be a bigger deal than who he ultimately chose for offensive coordinator, as Johnson will design the offense and call the plays.
Johnson’s background is as an offensive coordinator and quarterback guru with the Detroit Lions, where he helped Jared Goff elevate into the MVP conversation in 2024 following back-to-back regular seasons in which Detroit went a combined 27-7 and won consecutive NFC North Division titles.
That said, the team still needed an OC and Johnson also made that decision Sunday, naming 28-year-old Declan Doyle to the position. Doyle spent the last two seasons coaching the tight ends for the Denver Broncos. He was an offensive assistant with the Saints for four seasons before that.
“It’s going to be critical for me to find somebody that can organize and structure and set the table, particularly early in the week,” Johnson said before the hire, per Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “I have been around a number of guys that have called plays in the past and I’ve seen the potential pitfalls that could arise.”
Ben Johnson Admitted He’s Never Met Dennis Allen Before Hiring Him as Bears’ New Defensive Coordinator
GettyThe Chicago Bears hired former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen as their next defensive coordinator.
Johnson also spoke about Allen before officially hiring him on Sunday, noting that he’d never actually met the former Saints head coach/defensive coordinator to that point.
“I’ve never coached with [Allen]. I’ve never met him,” Johnson said. “But I would tell you we faced that defense a year ago when he was in New Orleans and gained a lot of respect for it. I think everywhere he has been along the way, they have been a top third-down team, a top red zone team. So there are a lot of pillars about what he does schematically that would be appealing to me. He has worked with Aaron Glenn. He has worked with Dan Campbell. Both speak very highly of him.”
Glenn worked as the defensive coordinator for the Lions during Johnson’s tenure there, while Campbell is Detroit’s head coach.
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