Bears hire Dennis Allen, Declan Doyle as coordinators

The Chicago Bears are bringing in former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen to serve as their next defensive coordinator, the team announced Tuesday.

Chicago also hired Denver Broncos tight ends coach Declan Doyle as its offensive coordinator and retained Richard Hightower as its special teams coordinator.

They'll serve under new head coach Ben Johnson, who was officially hired last week.

Allen spent 2022-24 as the Saints' head coach but was fired midseason after a 2-7 start. He was the team's defensive coordinator from 2015 to 2021. The Saints' defense finished inside the top 10 in points allowed five times during his overall tenure in New Orleans.

Doyle spent the last two seasons as the Broncos' tight ends coach. The 28-year-old also has ties to New Orleans after Sean Payton hired him to replace Joe Brady, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Doyle then followed Payton to Denver.

The Bears ranked 28th in scoring (18.2 PPG) last season, while their defense was 13th in points allowed (21.8 PPG).