Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson reached out to former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen late in the 2024 season to inquire if the veteran coach would be willing to work with a first time NFL head coach.

Detroit Lions fans are taking the break up with new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson badly. Lions fans didn’t like their NFC North division rival poaching their offensive coordinator after the team made two playoff appearances in a row.

In his introduction on Thursday, Dennis Allen was asked about what his style of defense would look like. The word “aggressive” came up multiple times as part of what to expect under the new DC.

We've got some internal and external candidates to watch. It's hard to ignore Kelvin Sheppard as anything but one of the favorites for the job.

The Bears are bringing in former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator. Chicago has also hired Denver Broncos tight ends coach Declan Doyle to serve as the offensive coordinator and is retaining special teams coordinator Richard Hightower.

It’s been a long time coming, but Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears) and Aaron Glenn (New York Jets) are off to run their own franchises. Who they take with them is the next question, but what we do know right now is that Dan Campbell is tasked with replacing two of his closest confidants in the middle of a Super Bowl window.

The Bears are hiring Ben Johnson as head coach and he already has a top candidate in mind for defensive coordinator.

The mentality that new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen plans to bring to the Bears is in keeping with the team’s storied history as “Monsters of the Midway.”

The Lions are heading into the offseason sooner than they or most anyone expected. We’ll kick-start the process by evaluating five questions facing the team.

CHICAGO (CBS Sports) -- The Chicago Bears recently got their new head coach in Ben Johnson. Now they have two right-hand men for Johnson, on Sunday hiring former New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen as the team's new defensive coordinator, as NFL Media reported, and 28-year-old Declan Doyle as the new offensive coordinator.

Sources: The #Bears are hiring former #Saints head coach and respected guru Dennis Allen as their new defensive coordinator. The favorite to join coach Ben Johnson’s staff since Johnson’s hire, Allen adds experience and a top-notch DC to Chicago. pic.twitter.com/oYpIftgfB9

Less than one week after being hired as the 19th head coach in Chicago Bears history, Ben Johnson has chosen his three coordinators.