Chicago Bears throw DC Dennis Allen under the bus

NFL: Chicago Bears Rookie Minicamp May 9, 2025; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen (L), general manager Ryan Poles (C) and head coach Ben Johnson (R) observe during the Rookie Minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Chicago Bears throw DC Dennis Allen under the bus

Originally posted on ChiCitySports | By Jordan Sigler | Last updated Apr 26, 2026 7:33 PM ET

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The Chicago Bears drafted as if the rushing the pass wasn’t the biggest problem with the roster.

The Bears waited until the sixth round to take Georgia Tech defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg, the first defensive lineman the team took in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Last season, the Bears had the No. 31 out of 32 league teams in pass rush win rate, winning 29% of their pass rushes. Chicago’s 35 sacks were tied for the 22nd-best.

After taking safety Dillon Thieneman on Thursday night, general manager Ryan Poles said that “the way” the Bears are coaching things this offseason should help the defensive line get better.

What these guys are working on this week was for that group to continue to get better so they can be more effective,” Poles said.

“I know the coaches spend a lot of time in the offseason detailing where spots where we can get better, maybe some tweaks on what we’re doing–the way we’re coaching things–and then, naturally, just the second year in the system, you would think that some of these guys would continue to get better and elevate their game.”

Again, why the Bears waited until this offseason to get better at that department is curious, because getting pressure on quarterbacks has been an issue since Poles tore down the defensive line in 2022.

Poles suggested an improved secondary would help a slow defensive line have more time to eventually get to the opposing quarterback. It was a weird comment because a secondary filled with backups led the Bears to the playoffs last season, with players like Nahshon Wright (now with the New York Jets) creating turnovers.

Pressure is on Chicago Bears DC Dennis Allen

During his news conference on Saturday, Bears head coach Ben Johnson made a couple of comments directed at the coaching staff, saying that would help the pass-rush.

We’re certainly going to coach better than what we did a year ago,” Johnson said. “It starts there. We’ve made a concerted effort with how we’re going to get that done… It’s the deal when you’re a first-year staff, not everything’s gonna look the way you want it to look…

“But for us on offense and defense, you look at the self-scout and it doesn’t look the way we want it to look. And so to me, that’s a reflection of coaching. We made a concerted effort on both sides of the ball there to make sure that we’re going to get it to look more the way that we want it to look.”

The Bears have an expectation that Allen and his defensive staff will get the pass-rush up to par. Poles did leave open the possibility that the team would help at the defensive line in free agency or via trade.

Regardless, Johnson and Poles put Allen on notice. It was a weird response after Allen’s defense, filled with injuries, did a great job of keeping the team in games until the offense got going last season.

This article first appeared on ChiCitySports and was syndicated with permission.

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