Dennis Allen Reveals When Ben Johnson Asked Him to Be His Defensive Coordinator

The former Saints head coach was hired as the Chicago Bears DC this week.
Allen was hired as the Bears' next defensive coordinator this week.
Allen was hired as the Bears' next defensive coordinator this week. / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

While Ben Johnson wasn't officially hired as the Chicago Bears' next head coach until Jan. 21, he was apparently getting his staff ready long before that.

Dennis Allen—who was introduced as Chicago's next defensive coordinator at a press conference on Thursday—revealed that Johnson reached out to him during the season to see if he'd like to join forces at his next destination.

"At some point as we got later in the season he reached out to me just to see if I would be interested," said Allen. "I told him that I would be interested."

Allen had been serving as the New Orleans Saints' head coach since 2022 but was fired in November after a 2-7 start.

Johnson reaching out to Allen mid-season adds to the gripe some had with the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator. A segment of fans responded negatively to him taking the Bears job—saying that thought he'd had one foot out the door all season.

Chicago now pairs Johnson with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, and Allen—a veteran coordinator—with a defense that allowed 21.8 points per game in 2024.


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Mike Kadlick
MIKE KADLICK

Mike Kadlick is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the New England Patriots for WEEI sports radio in Boston and continues to do so for CLNS Media. He has a master's in public relations from Boston University. Kadlick is also an avid runner and a proud lover of all things pizza.