Bears' Ben Johnson makes the biggest hire of his first coaching staff official and he couldn't have picked a better choice for the position
Soon after the Chicago Bears made things official in hiring Ben Johnson to be the team's next head coach, a former head coach's name was quickly connected as a strong candidate to join Johnson's first ever coaching staff.Johnson, however, wanted to be thorough when it came to selecting his staff. After interviewing other candidates, Johnson came back […]
Soon after the Chicago Bears made things official in hiring Ben Johnson to be the team's next head coach, a former head coach's name was quickly connected as a strong candidate to join Johnson's first ever coaching staff.
Johnson, however, wanted to be thorough when it came to selecting his staff. After interviewing other candidates, Johnson came back around to the name first mentioned for the role and has now hired the man responsible for running his team's defense in 2025.
Dennis Allen will serve as the Bears' next defensive coordinator under Ben Johnson and brings plenty of experience to the staff for the first-time head coach to lean on.
Allen spent seven seasons as the New Orleans Saints' defensive coordinator under Sean Payton and then spent three seasons as the Saints' head coach after Payton left the organization. He also previously served as the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator in 2011 and the head coach of the Raiders from 2012-2014.
Therefore, his experience speaks for itself and having him on the staff gives Johnson someone to bounce ideas off of, which is going to be critical for his growth as a head coach. After previously getting two other head coaching gigs in his career, it's also unlikely Allen lands another in the future, which means he can remain on Johnson's staff for the long haul.
Despite never previously working together, Johnson surely got a strong recommendation on Allen from Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn, two people who were extremely close with Johnson in Detroit and worked alongside Allen in New Orleans with the Saints.
And, as a defensive-mind, there was no option out there better than Allen. With the Saints, Allen led five Top-10 defenses, including five that finished Top-5 in the NFL.
One of the areas Johnson pinpointed as a defensive focus was wanting the Bears' defense to disrupt opposing quarterbacks. Since 2015, Allen's defensive unit ranked Top-10 in defensive sacks in six different seasons.
“There’s a number of ways that looks,” Johnson said. “It’s both pass rush and coverage. Certainly, if you are not stopping the run, it’s going to help the quarterback play better, because he has that to lean on as well. So, it’s easier said than done. But whoever we bring in here as defensive coordinator, he’s going to understand that that quarterback disruption is something we focus on every week.”
Allen will be inheriting a defense that will be returning all 11 starters in 2025, although some upgrades could be made at a few positions, such as finding another alpha edge rusher to complement Montez Sweat. But overall, the level of talent and repertoire will stay the same for that unit on the field with a new coordinator coming in.
Allen now joins assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El, defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator Al Harris, and quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett as the known hires so far on Johnson's staff.
Prior to hiring Allen, Johnson and the Bears also met with Los Angeles Rams assistant head coach Aubrey Pleasant and Minnesota Vikings passing game coordinator Daronte Jones for the previously vacant position.
Trio of former NFL players who are quickly rising up the coaching ranks join Ben Johnson’s staff with the Chicago Bears
The staff is starting to come together.
