Chicago Bears hire Dennis Allen, Declan Doyle as defensive, offensive coordinators

Just five days after landing on Ben Johnson as their next head coach, the Chicago Bears have found their coordinators. NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that the Bears have hired Dennis Allen as their defensive coordinator and Declan Doyle to run the offense.

Allen was most recently the head coach of the New Orleans Saints before being let go in the middle of this past season. He won a Super Bowl with the Saints as their secondary coach in 2010 and was also a head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 2012-14.

Prior to taking over as head coach, Allen was also the defensive coordinator for the Saints from 2015-21 and held the same position for the Denver Broncos in 2011. He has more than 20 seasons of coaching experience in the NFL overall.

Doyle is significantly less traveled as this is the first offensive coordinator job for the 28-year-old. He was the tight ends coach for the Denver Broncos each of the past two seasons and before that worked as an offensive assistant with the Saints from 2019-22, where he worked with Allen under Sean Payton.

Doyle is the son of former Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle and also worked as a graduate assistant on the Hawkeyes staff from 2016-18.

Chicago is coming off of a 5-12 season and has not won more than eight games since 2018. The hope is that this new staff can get things going on the right track, and Doyle will have an exciting opportunity to work with Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Report: Matt Eberflus a ‘prime candidate’ to join Dallas Cowboys staff

On Friday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Cowboys are promoting offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach. Shortly after the announcement, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler followed up with a report, claiming that former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus will be a candidate for the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator opening.

“Sources consider former #Bears defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus a prime candidate for the #Cowboys defensive coordinator job under new coach Brian Schottenheimer, per sources,” Fowler wrote on X. “Eberflus was a Cowboys assistant from 2011-17.”

Eberflus was the Cowboys’ linebackers coach from 2011-15 while simultaneously serving as a passing game coordinator during his final two years with the team.

In the 2017 season, Eberflus’ linebacker unit helped the Cowboys rank No. 8 in total defense (318.1 yards per game) and rushing defense (104.0 yards per game). The team also boasted the No. 11 passing defense (214.1 yards per game).

Eberflus has spent the past three seasons as the Chicago Bears’ head coach. During Eberflus’ time at the helm of the organization, the Bears posted a 14-32 record. They never reached the playoffs under Eberflus.

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.