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3 Bears on Thin Ice With Dennis Allen as Defensive Coordinator

The Chicago Bears' new defensive coordinator will have a huge impact on a few current players.

By Charlie Smith

Oct 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen reacts to a play call against the Denver Broncos during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Oct 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen reacts to a play call against the Denver Broncos during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
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As soon as Ben Johnson was announced as the new head coach of the Chicago Bears, the rumors started flying that Dennis Allen was going to be the new defensive coordinator. The fire died down a little bit for a few days with other names being in the mix, but it was ultimately Allen, after all, getting hired the first weekend following Johnson's hiring.

Allen's tenure as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints did not go as great as he would have planned, finishing with an 18-25 record before being fired halfway through the 2024 season. The success he had as a coordinator did not translate to his role as head coach as is the case with many coordinators.

While the wins did not come in waves as a head coach, Allen's defenses never finished lower than 14th overall from 2017 to 2023, including a couple of top-5 finishes in 2020 and 2021. We see coordinators perform great and get head coaching gigs all the time, but the unfortunate fact of the matter is that a lot of them do not pan out.

Many of them return to their coordinator roles afterward and see success again. Steve Spagnuolo, arguably the best defensive coordinator in the game today, was the Rams head coach from 2009 to 2011 and ended with a record of 10-38 in three seasons. He then returned to defensive roles and the rest is history. Some guys just know their side of the ball better than most, but cannot lead a full team.

Allen will bring much-needed experience to the Bears' coaching staff with Ben Johnson being a new head coach. His arrival should also provide a spark to a defense that was trending down all last season. Let's take a look at a few guys who are immediately on thin ice with Allen coming to town.

1. Tyrique Stevenson, CB

Stevenson entered the 2024 season viewed as someone who could possibly have a breakout sophomore season after showing promise last season. Unfortunately, this ended up being completely false as Stevenson struggled often - highlighted by the infamous Hail Mary play against the Commanders.

The truth is, however, that his play was not great outside of the botched Hail Mary as well. He allowed a 83.2 passer rating when targeted which was 146th in the league among qualifying cornerbacks, per PFF. He was picked on often due to teams staying away from Jaylon Johnson on the other side.

He also was in a good handful of scuffles with other receivers. A cornerback needs to play confident and aggressive to be at his best, but there is a line between this and being immature and costing your team. Stevenson is still very young and learning how to deal with things in the league, so a new coordinator who can enforce discipline on that side of the ball should be good for him.

Terrell Smith, a 5th-round pick in the same draft as Stevenson, has shown some glimpses when given the opportunity. There is an argument to be made that Smith has played better than Stevenson while seeing the field much less. If Stevenson continues to be a problem behavior-wise and not showing up on the field to make up for it, then we can possibly see Smith take his job.

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