Grading the Bears' hiring of Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator

The Chicago Bears defense is under new management. The Bears are set to hire former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen as the team's new defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports. Allen's strong candidacy was one of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL over the last five days after the Bears hired Ben Johnson as the new head coach, and now the move all but becomes official.

Allen has decades of experience as a defensive coach, both in college and in the pros. He spent time with the Atlanta Falcons in multiple roles in the early 2000s before jumping to the Saints as a position coach. Allen got his first coordinator role with the Denver Broncos in 2011, which landed him the head coaching job with the Oakland Raiders from 2012-2014.

Though Allen was fired midway through the 2014 season, he landed on his feet when he returned to the Saints as a defensive assistant and eventually defensive coordinator. That's where Allen shined, building a top unit that helped the Saints maintain their postseason presence. Following the retirement of Sean Payton, Allen was hired as the Saints head coach, where he lasted two and a half seasons before he was fired. He finished his tenure with a record of 18-25.

Now, Allen returns to the defensive side of the ball, where he will be tasked with overseeing a talented unit that fell short of expectations in 2024. Here is our initial grade of the hire:

Initial grade: A-

Fans might see the name "Dennis Allen" and shudder, knowing how inept he has been as a head coach at multiple stops. But if you peel back the curtain, you will see a well-respected football savant who turned the Saints defense from one of the worst to arguably the best in a few short years.

When Allen took over midway in 2015, the Saints were a mess under Rob Ryan. They finished the season second-to-last in total yards and last in points allowed. Allen had his work cut out for him, but slowly and surely, he helped dig the Saints out from the bottom of the league rankings. In two short years in 2017, that same Saints defense that was last in the league in points allowed jumped up to No. 10 overall. They finished third in interceptions that season, and Allen was helping develop star players such as Cameron Jordan, Trey Hendrickson, and Marshon Lattimore.

That group kept growing until they became the best unit in football during the 2020 season. The Saints finished with a top-five defense in every major category that season, and Allen was running the show on that side of the ball. He even had Tom Brady stifled on multiple occasions due to his versatile scheme and ability to match up with any top offensive play caller.

Allen will have a similar setup with the Bears like he had with the Saints, who won't need to worry about overseeing an entire team like he had before. He's there for the defense and for someone Johnson can lean on for advice as someone who is new in the head coaching role.

That experience is something that will be vital as the season gets underway. Johnson has a sounding board available to him and someone who has been a head coach recently that he can work with. Sure, Allen's experience isn't the greatest, but any experience is a plus for someone entering that role for the first time.

Allen should have a much higher floor with this Bears defense than he did when he rejoined the Saints in 2015. I expect success to come much faster this time given who he has available on the defensive side of the ball such as Jaylon Johnson, Gervon Dexter, Montez Sweat, and more. He will have to get buy-in from the players, however.

Losing the locker room was a key factor in Allen's firing, which reportedly stemmed from the 2023 season finale. That's when the Saints ran up the score on the Atlanta Falcons, going against Allen's wishes, who didn't have his players backs after the incident. Of course, Allen won't need to make such calls, and he has a clean slate with this Bears defense. But it's still something to keep an eye on if things wind up going south during the season.

All in all, the Bears found themselves a coach with years of experience who has done the job at a high level and shouldn't be in danger of leaving for another head coaching job after his failed stints. Allen could be the next Steve Spagnuolo or Vic Fangio as elite coordinators who aren't quite good enough to make successful head coaches. Johnson needed to find someone experienced and stable to manage that defense, and he found that person with Allen.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Grading the Bears' hiring of Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator