When it became clear he was taking his first head-coaching job after the 2024 season, Ben Johnson knew he needed someone with head-coaching experience on his staff. Dennis Allen was available after being fired as head coach of the New Orleans Saints that season, and Allen later revealed that the courtship process had started well before Johnson had a head coaching job.
On the first day of Bears' training camp last July, while not calling himself a veteran assistant coach to help manage game situations, Allen revealed how he would otherwise be valuable to Johnson.
"You're watching tape and you're trying to put yourself through as many of those scenarios as you can. You're watching tape. When we're out here at practice, you're putting yourself through those scenarios. But ultimately, there's no substitute for being in live battle and being able to do those things. When I first started calling defensive plays, I feel like I'm much further along than I was on day one as a defensive coordinator. So that experience has helped me in that way. I think that'll help Ben as he goes through as a head coach."
Allen has not been successful as a head coach, with a 26-53 record over six seasons and a midseason firing in Year 3 of both jobs. But there are obviously things he has learned, and can pass along to others.
Apart from his acumen as a defensive coordinator, that's why Johnson wanted Allen on his staff.
Ben Johnson reveals best advice he got from Dennis Allen during Year 1 as Chicago Bears head coach
Johnson recently sat down with Larry Mayer of Bears.com to reflect on his first season in Chicago as he moves toward Year 2.
The person who Johnson says gave him the best advice during his first season as Bears' head coach is obvious.
"The best advice I got was from 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."
A 0-2 start, capped by a 52-21 road loss to the Detroit Lions (Johnson's former team, of course), could have set the Bears' 2025 season irretrievably off-course very early. But they would win 11 of their next 13 games on the way to winning the NFC North, followed by a playoff win over the hated rival Green Bay Packers.
With the tied-for-third-largest year-to-year improvement in Bears' history last season (six wins), Johnson has set aside any idea he couldn't make a smooth transition from being a top offensive play caller to leading an entire football team.
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In 17 games as a head coach, Johnson already has almost half the number of wins Allen had in 79 games as a head coach. But the veteran coach will surely remain a big influence on Johnson and on any success the Bears have beyond how his defensive unit performs.