Why Dennis Allen decided to join Ben Johnson with Chicago Bears
Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen hadn’t met until recently. The formal introduction came via a phone call Johnson placed, armed with a direct question for someone he didn’t really know.
Johnson wanted to gauge Allen’s interest in joining him as defensive coordinator when/if he took a head coaching job in 2025. Johnson was Detroit Lions offensive coordinator at the time, set to be the most coveted commodity on the open coaching market. Allen had been relieved of duties as New Orleans Saints head coach earlier in the 2024 campaign.
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It seemed to be an excellent match, considering both track records of play-calling success. The uncertainty of not knowing each other was mitigated by mutual friends of the two.
Allen had worked with Detroit head coach Dan Campbell and then-defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn in the past.
“I just feel like I had connections to Ben, although I didn’t really know him,” Allen said Thursday in a virtual press conference with Bears beat reporters. “I just think him leaning on those guys in reference to me and me leaning on those guys in reference to him, I think we both felt like it was a really good fit.”
Allen spent some time away from football after getting let go on Nov. 4, 2024, following a 2-7 start to the season. The two-time head coach and longtime defensive play caller was ready to get back in it by the time Johnson called, and they formally formed a pact in Chicago.
“When Ben asked me if I would be interested, there were a couple of places that I felt like had the pieces in place to potentially be a really good football team, and Chicago was obviously one of them,” Allen said. “And so, I was excited when it came about that this was a job that he really wanted, and this was a job that he wanted to get. And I was excited to come along with him.”
The new Bears head coach secured more than just a good defensive coordinator. Allen’s head-coaching experience is also an asset to a first-time head coach. While Allen hasn’t been successful as a head coach, he has seen it all from that role and knows a ton about in-game management and being in a role of roster CEO.
“Anything that I can do to help him just from my own personal experience and what i went through as a first-time head coach, a second-time head coach, you know, the challenges are there on a daily basis as a head coach, so being able to deal with those as they come along,” Allen said. “Every day you wake up, you’re coming into the office and you know that there’s going to be things that you’re going to have to deal with and then it’s just really about how do you react to those things.”
A head coach has to handle so much more than a coordinator, a fact Johnson understands well. He spent significant time last year thinking big picture, about how he would handle things from the captain’s chair. And he surrounded himself with experience on-staff to help in a pinch.
“My job is to use all the experience that I have to help him be as successful as he can be,” Allen said. “I don’t look at is as my job is 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’s got questions, if he’s got things that he wants to run by me, I’ll be glad to give him my opinion.
“But, in my experience with him, I’m excited about this opportunity for him. He’s fully prepared and fully capable of doing an outstanding job, and whatever he needs me to do, I’ll be here to try to help him in any way I can.”