Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is known for having aggressive schemes that produce results.

In 11 seasons as a defensive play caller, his teams have finished with a Top 10 ranking in points allowed seven times, including each of his last four full seasons with the New Orleans Saints.

Linebacker T.J. Edwards is entering his third season with his hometown team, and is pumped to have Allen leading the defense.

“I’m excited in general,” Edwards said on “The Chicago Football Show.” “I think it’s an aggressive scheme. He wants to dictate the terms.”

[MORE: Bears fans surprise Pope Leo XIV with ‘Da Pope’ shirt in Rome]

That echoes the sentiment Allen preached during his introductory press conference.

“We want to be an attacking, aggressive style of defense,” Allen stated. “I think we want to take the fight to the offense and not let the offense dictate the tempo to us. We’re gonna be aggressive, we’re gonna challenge everything. We’re gonna play the game the right way and we’re gonna play a tough, physical brand of football — I think the brand of football that you come to expect at the Chicago Bears.” 

It’s the style of defense that a player such as Edwards can thrive in.

“As a linebacker, you love that, right?” Edwards said. “To get downhill. Go attack. Just kind of shoot your shot and make plays. And I think that’s kind of what his schemes in the past have thrived on.”

Allen employs a 4-3 base defense, which will require plenty of athleticism from both Edwards and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds to cover ground all over the field.

[READ: Bears’ Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson set lofty passing goals for 2025 season]

Edwards and Edmunds have been mainstays in the middle of the Bears defense since 2023. Both have been in the Top 3 in total tackles in each season with Chicago.

They’ll need to have similar production this season for the Bears defense to be successful.

“I’m excited to see kind of how we match up and what it looks like,” Edwards added. “As we kind of get going and seeing more of what we’ll be doing, I think that’s when it gets fun.”