Coming into his first season defensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears, Dennis Allen has a well-respected resume, especially during his time as both defensive coordinator and head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
From the moment he started working with Bears, Allen has been showered with praise and respected from the players, but as he looks forward, he wants to see the players take control of the unit.
Earlier this week, Allen spoke about how on the best defenses he’s coached, the players took control and led by example. With veterans such as defensive end Montez Sweat, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, safety Kevin Byard and cornerback Jaylon Johnson, there are several candidates who could step up and lead this defense under Allen’s coaching.
“I think the best defenses that I – or best teams that I’ve ever been on have been player driven, player led,” Allen said. “I think that has to happen naturally. I don’t think that’s anything that you try to force to happen. I do think we have some guys on our team that have some leadership qualities. It’s our job as coaches to try to foster that a little bit. Give them some freedom to make some checks, make some adjustments, see how they handle it.
“I feel good about the type of guys that we have in our building. I think we have a lot of guys that love football, a lot of guys that are willing to work, a lot of guys are willing to sacrifice for each other and for the team. I think those are things that we’re going to need to count on throughout the course of the season.”
With plenty of talent available to him, and many of those players who were around for last season wanting to turn it around this season, there will be no shortage of motivation on defense for players to step up and be a leader.
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