The coordinators hired by Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson bring different levels of coaching experience to their new roles.
Dennis Allen, the defensive coordinator, has been a head coach in the NFL twice, while Declan Doyle, the new offensive coordinator, is the youngest coordinator in the league.
Allen, who worked with the 28-year-old Doyle in New Orleans for four years, believes Doyle has the potential to bring energy to Johnson’s offense.
“I think that the No. 1 thing that stands out the moment you meet him, the moment you talk to him, you sense a highly intelligent person, a guy that’s been around the game, a guy that understands the game,” Allen said. “He understands the game from a multitude of different perspectives. I just think he’s a really good, bright, young coach that has a really good future in front of him.”
Doyle came to the Bears after being the Broncos tight ends coach and working under Denver coach Sean Payton for five years, including three with the Saints. He believes players won’t mind his age.
“I think knowledge is power,” Doyle said. “That is what the guys care about ultimately. Last year was the first time I’ve ever actually been older than all the players in my (position) room.”
“This is going to be my 10th year. But that’s really kind of been a part of my journey to this point.”
Johnson will be calling plays and has said the offensive coordinator role is more about setting the stage.
“I think that’s a good way to describe it,” Doyle said. “Ben is gonna have less time than he’s ever had as a play-caller. Obviously, I think that’s kind of a thing that’s morphing as we go, to try to figure out what that looks like. My job is really gonna be to organize and detail the game plan initially, utilizing our staff.”
Doyle remembered how Payton worked with quarterback Bo Nix, who had a season where he was invited as an alternate to the Pro Bowl but had to decline for medical reasons. Doyle thinks the Bears can get similar, or even better, performance from Caleb Williams.
“I think the biggest thing is just the talent of the kid, the ability to use his legs,” Doyle said. “He is a tough kid. You see it on tape.”
Doyle was impressed by Williams’ big-play ability.
“But his second act, his ability to escape the pocket, his ability to create is a special thing and it’s something that I got to see with Bo in Denver last year,” Doyle said. “That ability to evade and put pressure on a defense and kind of be the eraser of game-planning mistakes, I think that’s really exciting about him.”
Experience won’t be a problem for the Bears on the defensive side. Allen was the Saints head coach from 2022 to 2024 and the Raiders head coach from 2012 to 2014, plus he has eight years of experience as an NFL defensive coordinator.
Allen replaces Matt Eberflus, who led the Bears’ defense in 2024 before it struggled in the second half of the season. Allen sees strong potential in cornerback Jaylon Johnson, a Pro Bowl player.
“In particular, I think there’s some things that we have in the secondary that I like, I think there are some pieces at linebacker that I’m encouraged by,” Allen said. “I think there’s a couple of spots up front where we got some players. So, I think the foundation is there defensively.
And I think, look, 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.”
The Bears’ defense played a big part in a late 2023 turnaround, but the offense struggled, leading to a 5-12 finish in 2024.
“We’ve got some size and length at the corner (back) position,” Allen said. “(Cornerback) Kyler Gordon, I think, is an outstanding nickel player. I have a vision for how we can utilize him. I think the foundation for what we want to do is there.”
