Bears hiring Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator

The Chicago Bears are hiring Dennis Allen as their defensive coordinator, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, under new head coach Ben Johnson.

Allen boasts 30 years of coaching experience between the NFL and the collegiate levels. He got his NFL start with the Atlanta Falcons as a defensive quality control coordinator (2002-03) and later a defensive assistant (2004-05). He also spent time with the Saints as an assistant defensive line coach (2006-07) and secondary coach (2008-10), which included winning a Super Bowl championship with New Orleans.

Allen then joined the Denver Broncos as defensive coordinator in 2011 before nabbing his first head coach job with the Oakland Raiders (2012-14). After he was fired, Allen landed back with the Saints as a senior defensive assistant (2015) and then defensive coordinator (2015-21) before being promoted to head coach in 2022. Allen was fired on Nov. 4, 2024.

This is a huge hire for Johnson. Not only is Allen a proven defensive coordinator, but he has previous head coaching experience that will help Johnson make the transition to head coach. Sure, Allen's track record as a head coach isn't encouraging -- he went 26-53 between the Saints and Raiders -- but he's being brought in to lead the defense and be a sounding board for a first-time head coach in Johnson.

Here's a look at Johnson's coaching staff so far (unofficial): Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen; quarterbacks coach: J.T. Barrett; wide receivers coach: Antwaan Randle El; defensive passing game coordinator: Al Harris.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears hiring Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator