Among the candidates that the Indianapolis Colts interviewed for their defensive coordinator opening was Dennis Allen, who may be heading to Chicago.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Allen is the “leading candidate” to become the next Bears’ defensive coordinator under new head coach Ben Johnson.
Allen was fired at about the halfway point in the 2024 season after being the New Orleans Saints’ head coach since 2022. Under Allen, the Saints’ defenses were among the stingiest in football. During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the Saints ranked top-10 in scoring defense both years.
Instead of hiring Allen, the Colts would go with Lou Anarumo as their new defensive play-caller. Anarumo had been in charge of the Bengals’ defense since 2019, and was dubbed the ‘Mad Scientist’ for his ability to put together diverse game-plans and disguise what the defense was doing.
The news of Allen being a top candidate for the Bears defensive coordinator role came at almost exactly the same time as the news that the Colts were hiring Anarumo.
One thing we’ll probably never know is whether Anarumo was the Colts’ first choice and Allen to the Bears was a result of that. Or, vice versa, Allen wanted to go to the Bears, so the Colts went with Anarumo.
