It’s early yet. Dennis Allen barely has his new office settled at Halas Hall. So it’s difficult for the 52-year-old coach to deliver a concrete vision of what his Chicago Bears defense might look like in 2025.
But Allen does know what he’s after and how he likes his units to operate. So it was little surprise Thursday when the new Bears defensive coordinator offered up two qualities he is certain will be part of the M.O. going forward.
Attacking. Aggressive.
No questions asked.
“We want to take the fight to the offense and not let the offense dictate the tempo to us,” Allen said. “We’re going to be aggressive. We’re going to challenge everything. We’re going to play the game the right way. And we’re going to play a tough, physical brand of football.”
There it is. The mission statement. Directly from the mouth of Bears coach Ben Johnson’s most significant hire to date. And on a day when Johnson’s two new coordinators introduced themselves — 28-year-old offensive coordinator Declan Doyle also spoke — Allen’s energy resonated.
“When Ben asked me if I would be interested (in being his defensive coordinator), there were a couple places I felt had the pieces in place to potentially be a really good football team,” Allen said. “And Chicago was obviously one of them. So I was excited when it came about — that this was the job he really wanted. And I was excited to come along with him.”
Not only have the two never coached together, Johnson acknowledged last week after the Bears hired him that he had never even met Allen until recently.
On Thursday, Allen offered additional detail on how that connection was initially facilitated, mentioning Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell and former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn (now the New York Jets head coach) as part of the bridge-building process.
Campbell and Glenn know Johnson well, having coached alongside him in Detroit for the last four seasons. Campbell and Glenn also played college football in the 1990s at Texas A&M, where, at different points, they were teammates of Allen, a safety for the Aggies.
That trio also coached together for five seasons (2016-20) under Sean Payton with the New Orleans Saints.
Allen also credited Terrell Williams in his information-gathering process. Williams, who was the Lions defensive line coach in 2024 and is now the New England Patriots defensive coordinator, was Allen’s defensive line coach with the Oakland Raiders from 2012-14.
“I just feel like I had connections to Ben, although I didn’t really know him,” Allen said. “I think him leaning on those guys in reference to me and me leaning on those guys in reference to him, we both felt like this was a really good fit.”
Now the chore will be turning that fit into on-field production. Allen has plenty of work ahead to reignite a Bears defense that fell off in 2024 — dramatically in some areas. A season after leading the NFL with 22 interceptions, the Bears had only 11 picks (tied for 19th). The run defense dropped from No. 1 in the league to 28th.
And after finishing the 2023 season on a hot streak, allowing just 17.1 points per game over the final eight games, the Bears surrendered an average of 24.7 points this season during a 10-game losing streak that torpedoed the season.
Allen isn’t yet versed enough to diagnose went wrong or how he plans to fix it. Nor does he have his arms fully around the returning defensive personnel at Halas Hall. The only Bears player he named Thursday was Kyler Gordon, whom he labeled “an outstanding nickel corner.”
“I have a vision for how we can utilize him,” Allen noted.
The rest of the vision still is coming together. And while Allen did laud the size and length within the Bears cornerbacks room, the versatility of the team’s safeties and “some pieces at linebacker that I’m encouraged by,” there will be an important acclimation process throughout the spring and summer to mold the defense to his liking.
In the quest to build that attacking, aggressive defense, Allen will continue to lean into his preference for playing man coverage while attempting to catalyze the Bears pass rush.
“The foundation for what we want to do is there,” Allen said. “I’m just excited about finally getting these guys in here and having the opportunity to work with them to see exactly what we have.”
Allen also knows he can be a resource to Johnson, who is taking on head coaching responsibilities for the first time in his life. Allen knows those duties and that pressure. He was head coach of the Raiders for 36 games and the Saints for 43.
And while he was fired during his third season by both teams — his career winning percentage is .329 — Allen’s understanding of the job should help Johnson anticipate issues that may arise and troubleshoot problems that come to the forefront.
“My job,” Allen said, “is to use all the experience I have to help him be as successful as he can be. I don’t look at as it’s my job to go in there and tell him what I think he needs to do. My job is to be a sounding board for him. If he has questions, if he has things that he wants to run by me, I’ll be glad to give him my opinion.”
Most of all, though, Allen hopes to give Johnson peace of mind that the Bears defense is in good hands.
