Chicago Bears Hire Three Coordinators Under New Head Coach Ben Johnson

CHICAGO -- Less than one week after being hired as the 19th coach in franchise history, new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has appointed his three coordinators.

According to a league source, the Bears have hired Declan Doyle as the team's offensive coordinator, Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator, and will retain Richard Hightower as special teams coordinator.

Declan, 28, has served as the tight ends coach with the Denver Broncos since 2023. He spent his initial four seasons in the NFL as an offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints.

Johnson stated that he will continue to call offensive plays in Chicago, building off of three seasons as Detroit's offensive coordinator. He emphasized the importance of hiring a coach whose primary responsibility will be to assist him in game planning for weekly opponents.

"It's going to be critical for me to find somebody that can organize and structure and set the table, particularly early in the week," Johnson said. "I have been around a number of guys that have called plays in the past and I've seen the potential pitfalls that could arise as you're approaching the entire football team and you can't get to watching as much tape early in the week as you possibly could."

"The offensive coordinator position is going to have to be somebody that not only I trust but will be extremely detail-oriented, organized, and structured to set the table and also be willing to work late nights."

Allen, who has never coached alongside Johnson, is recognized as a long-standing member of the Saints coaching tree, which also produced Lions coach Dan Campbell and former Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

Allen was quickly seen as the frontrunner for the Bears' defensive coordinator position after Johnson's hiring.

His tenure with the Saints lasted from 2006 until 2011 when he transitioned to the Broncos as their defensive coordinator. After a short stint as the Raiders head coach, Allen returned to the Saints as a senior defensive assistant, later stepping into the role of defensive coordinator before being named head coach in 2022 after Sean Payton's departure, and was dismissed midway through the 2024 season.

"I've never coached with Dennis," Johnson remarked. "I've never met him. But I would tell you we faced that defense a year ago when he was in New Orleans and gained a lot of respect for it. I think everywhere he has been along the way, they have been a top third-down team, a top red zone team. So there are a lot of pillars about what he does schematically that would be appealing to me. He has worked with Aaron Glenn and Dan Campbell, both of whom speak very highly of him, so he's on the list. But there are several other strong candidates."

Hightower is entering his fourth season as Bears special teams coordinator after returning to Chicago in 2022. With 19 years of NFL coaching experience, Hightower served as the special teams coordinator in San Francisco from 2017 through 2021 before joining the Bears.

Last week, ESPN reported that the Bears would not retain several coaches from the 2024 staff, including interim head coach/offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph, wide receivers coach Chris Beatty, offensive line coach Chris Morgan, running backs coach Chad Morton, defensive coordinator Eric Washington, and cornerbacks coach Jon Hoke.