New Bears coach Ben Johnson eyeing two former NFL head coaches for his staff in Chicago, per report

Ben Johnson is set to be the next head coach of the Chicago Bears, and he is already assembling his staff with some familiar faces in mind. 

Johnson is looking to hire former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen as his defensive coordinator and former Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi as his special teams coordinator, per an ESPN report. Johnson has some familiarity with Rizzi, as he was on the same staff in Miami when Rizzi was the special teams coach and Johnson was the assistant quarterbacks and wide receivers coach. Both coached when Lions head coach Dan Campbell was the interim head coach in Miami. 

Johnson and Allen were never on the same staff, but the Campbell connection is there. Both coaches coached with Campbell in their careers — Johnson with Campbell in Miami and Detroit and Allen with Campbell in New Orleans under Sean Payton. 

Allen has the experienced pedigree as a defensive coordinator, having a top-10 defense in yards allowed per game twice with the Saints as a defensive coordinator in 2020 and 2021. New Orleans also ranked in the top five in points allowed per game in both of those years. He was the defensive play caller for the Saints from 2015 to 2021 before taking on the head-coaching responsibilities, going 18-25 in three seasons with the Saints without a playoff appearance. 

Rizzi was the interim head coach when Allen was fired in November, going 3-5 to finish out the season in New Orleans. He was a  special teams coordinator and assistant head coach with the Dolphins and Saints.