New Chicago Bears coach explains his defensive philosophy

The Chicago Bears introduced new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to the media on Thursday. Allen joins the Bears from New Orleans, where he spent the last three seasons as the Saints head coach. The 52-year-old has been coaching in the NFL since 2002 and he is a well-respected defensive mind across the league.

The 2025 season for Allen will be the first in ten years where he isn’t with the Saints. Prior to serving as their head coach, he was their defensive coordinator from 2015-2021. The past ten years were Allen’s second stint in New Orleans, as he worked as assistant defensive line and secondary coach from 2006-2010.

Allen is tasked with taking over a defensive unit that was run by Matt Eberflus over the past two and a half seasons. Chicago was quite successful on the defensive side of the ball during the Eberflus era, but the lone issue with the unit was in their ability to get to the quarterback consistently. According to Allen, that should change with the Bears defensive rather quickly.

Dennis Allen made his defensive philosophy loud and clear

Allen is known for running a 4-3 defense that leans toward being relatively blitz heavy. His meeting with the media on Thursday confirmed that the same principles will be following him to Chicago.

“We want to be an aggressive, attacking style defense,” Allen said. 

Chicago has been great in coverage over the last few seasons, with Jaylon Johnson being a major reason for that. Johnson’s ability to dominate in one-on-one coverage forces opposing quarterbacks to look the other way before throwing the ball in his directions.

Kyler Gordon had a solid 2024 season along with Johnson at the cornerback spot, but the primary focus for improvement in that room entering 2025 is with Tyrique Stevenson. If the new defensive staff can get the former Miami Hurricane to lock in and drown out all of the outside noise, he could be a real force in his third season.

No matter how good Chicago’s secondary is, it won’t mean much if they can’t get pressure on the quarterback. Montez Sweat hasn’t had much assistance off the edge since being traded to Chicago in 2023, which is something the front office needs to address if they want to set Allen up with the best chance to succeed moving forward.

The Chicago Bears will need to add more defensively for Dennis Allen

Another Sweat might fill the bill for the Chicago Bears when they look to the free agent market for edge rushers in March. Josh Sweat from the Eagles will command a bigger pay day in free agency than other guys at his position, but his consistency could be exactly what the Bears are looking for. He has proven to get to the quarterback early and often and can play in the big games while still executing. Plenty of boxes will be checked off by the Bears front office if they bring him in this offseason.

There are a couple of free agents that are used to playing in Allen’s scheme during his lengthy stay with the Saints. Chase Young was with Allen this past year and is a cheaper option on the market who won’t require as long of a commitment. Marcus Davenport is another name that is being floated around as a potential connection to Chicago. The former UTSA Roadrunner has been banged up the last couple of seasons, and Chicago could easily take a flier on him for 2025.