Bears DE reveals Dennis Allen is already putting words into practice to get more out of Chicago’s pass rush in 2026
Chicago Bears defensive end Austin Booker shares insight on how defensive coordinator Dennis Allen plans to get more out of the returning pass rushers going into the 2026 season.
The Chicago Bears’ pass rush was one of the more disappointing aspects of an otherwise successful season in 2025 and it raised eyebrows when the team decided not to make any additions off the edge this offseason.
Instead, the Bears are banking on getting more out of the returning players and using the new additions in the back seven to give the pass rush more opportunities to hit home. Along with that, the coaching staff pointed the finger directly at themselves for the lack of consistency the unit had rushing the passer.
“When we talk about the pass rush, one of the things we talked about, it gets back to the fundamentals and how we teach those things,” Bears DC Dennis Allen said. “We lost some of that because we were so focused on the scheme. That totally falls on me.”
Fans remain skeptical about this approach, but one rising defensive lineman shared how things are already looking different from a coaching standpoint this time around.
Chicago Bears DE Austin Booker shares insight on the added focus from the coaching staff with the DL
“That’s been a big emphasis,” Bears defensive end Austin Booker said on CHGO Bears. “We spent our first two weeks of optional camp just learning the technique. In the sense of pass rush, it’s body lean, get-off, and hand placement. So, they’ve definitely been hammering that. It’s good to have that good foundation before you start going over the plays.”
It’s great to see the coaching staff already putting their words into practice this early in the offseason. As soon as the season ended, head coach Ben Johnson was adamant about the fact that there’s no building off last season. You go back to square one and reinstruct all of the basics and techniques from scratch. Based on what Allen’s said about the deficiencies in the pass rush, that’s even more important for this group.
As for not making any additions at defensive end, Booker is actually one of the players the Bears are banking on to take that next step after having a strong second-half to the season.
“I feel like it was before the season started,” Booker said when asked when he noticed his own improvement. “Just from overthinking stuff to playing how I know to play and that got me there to where I’m good at hammering that stuff. I feel like that’s what turned the corner where I was able to do what I’m best at at the highest level and it was clicking.”
Booker added that this offseason he’s sitting at 255 pounds now after playing at 248 last season. Getting him bigger was one of the goals Allen had last year for the 23-year-old who’s starting to show clear signs of a breakout.
If the Bears can get a real breakout out of a guy like Booker, and get players such as Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner healthy again, this group can find immediate improvement along with the heightened coaching.