The reason: he was Johnson once. Allen, the Bears ’ new defensive coordinator, was a 39-year-old first-time head coach when the Raiders started their 2012 regular season. Johnson will be 39 when the Bears play their first game with him as their head coach.

In his initial media scrum as a Bears coach, Allen described the type of defense he plans to bring to Chicago, which brings back similarities to defenses that have been well known through Bears history.

We spoke with John Sigler of Saints Wire to give us a rundown on what we can expect from new Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

The Bears have talent covered at many defensive positions for coordinator Dennis Allen's scheme but may need to add at a position where bargain free agents exis

Ben Johnson made one of the first big moves of his Chicago Bears coaching tenure this week when he hired former Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen to be his defensive coordinator.

The Bears are set to hire former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen as the team's new defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports. Allen's strong candidacy was one of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL over the last five days after the Bears hired Ben Johnson as the new head coach,

The Chicago Bears have found their new coordinators under first-year head coach Ben Johnson.

The Chicago Tribune reports former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen is expected to become the Bears’ new defensive coordinator:

The Chicago Bears have hired Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator and Declan Doyle as offensive coordinator under new coach Ben Johnson.

Ben Johnson has found his top two coordinators. The new Chicago Bears head coach hired his offensive and defensive coordinators on Sunday afternoon, according to multiple reports. The team struck a deal with former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen to become its next defensive coordinator.