Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson felt he had a good idea of what he was stepping into. He knew the organization hadn’t had a winning season in over half a decade. He knew they’d crashed and burned in 2024 with a 5-12 record. Their young quarterback was shellshocked from taking 68 sacks. Confidence in the locker room was in the toilet. Getting everything cleaned up would be a monumental task. Johnson felt he was up for the challenge. What he wasn’t sure about was parts of the job he was unfamiliar with. That is when Dennis Allen came to the rescue.
Johnson told Larry Mayer of Chicagobears.com that the Bears’ defensive coordinator dropped some significant advice when they began working together last year. It had a profound effect on how Johnson operated throughout the season.
“The best advice I got was from [defensive coordinator and former NFL head coach] Dennis Allen soon after I took the job,” Johnson said. “He was like, ‘You just come into work every day expecting something to hit your desk that you weren’t anticipating.’ When you come in with that in mind, you’re really not taken unawares a whole lot. You learn to be flexible, you learn to trust people around you, and that’s been the best part of it.”
This goes a long way in explaining why the Bears managed to survive blows that would’ve seen other teams crumble. There were the laundry list of injuries. You had the 52-21 beatdown in Detroit. Zah Frazier never suited up for the team due to off-field issues. Other head coaches would’ve been overwhelmed by all of that. Johnson cut through all of it and brought the Bears to their first division title in seven years.
Dennis Allen was speaking from hard-bitten experience.
After all, he knows what it’s like walking into a totally new situation as a young head coach. He did it in 2012 when he joined the Oakland Raiders. He was only 40 years old at the time and had been a coordinator for just one season. Still, he felt he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. In hindsight, it didn’t take long for Allen to realize he hadn’t been prepared for the challenges. The team was mired in salary cap hell and had serious communication issues at the top. The operation was accused of being cheap behind the scenes, from unpaid electric bills to the continued use of paper-based accounting.
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Combine all of that with serious quarterback issues, and it’s little wonder Dennis Allen never got that team off the ground. He did manage to leave them a foundation for future success with Derek Carr and Khalil Mack. Alas, that experience left him better prepared for his second opportunity in New Orleans a few years later. While he never quite got over the hump, it showed that he wasn’t a complete loss as a head coach. The fact that his scars helped to prepare Johnson for what was coming made it all worth it.
This is why Johnson values Allen’s presence so much.
Not only is the man a great defensive coordinator, but he’s a great sounding board for a young coach still finding his way. Their partnership led to great things last season, despite less-than-ideal circumstances. Just imagine what can happen when they manage to retool the roster to their preferred specifications. We’re already seeing signs of it. Last year’s draft class was an instant sensation for the team on offense. Now they are focused on adding some playmakers on defense.
If that side of the ball can rise to match what Johnson has accomplished on offense, this team will be a legitimate Super Bowl threat. We already know this coaching staff is well-prepared for the many strange bounces coming its way. One can only hope they aren’t as jarring as last year. Knowing the NFL, that isn’t how it works. We’re already staring down the likelihood of replacement referees. Other weird turns will likely follow. Bring them on.
