Dennis Allen Has the Secret Sauce to Fix Bears' Pass Rush and it Starts With Him

When it comes to improving the pass-rush in 2026, Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen believes he will play a key role.

Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears' pass-rush was not good enough in 2025, plain and simple.

That's evidenced by the Bears finishing tied for the seventh-fewest sacks and second-worst pass-rush win rate in 2025.

For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, the Bears need more from their defensive front when it comes to both getting after the quarterback and stopping the run.

However, the Bears didn't make any significant additions to the group upfront this offseason, which was surprising, to say the least. That makes for a shaky situation after what we had to witness last season.

Dennis Allen has pass-rush solution

Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen thinks he knows how to fix things with the pass-rush. While addressing the media at rookie minicamp this week, Allen said it starts with him.

More specifically, Allen said he was a bit too caught up with going over the scheme in practice last season that there wasn't enough focus on the fundamentals. Allen says that will change in 2026, according to ESPN's Courtney Cronin.

"We had a lot of discussions this offseason about a lot of different things, and one of the things we identified was me," Allen said. "We focused so much on installing all the scheme last year because it was brand new, and we do have a high volume of things we carry in the defense. We focused so much on that that we lost sight of some of the fundamentals and techniques that it takes to function, to do those things. I don’t think we were as fundamentally sound defensively as we need to be."

"So how do we have to coach it better? Well, let’s minimize how much we’re focused on the scheme, OK, and let’s focus on not what we’re gonna do but how we’re gonna do it," Allen added. "I think that’s how we’re gonna improve."

Allen on the same page with Ben Johnson

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

While head coach Ben Johnson did not blame Allen for anything, he did make it clear that the coaching staff needs to be better in 2026, especially when it comes to teaching the fundamentals.

"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."

“I know we really refined and made it a big effort here this springtime already to get the fundamentals, the techniques to another level in terms of how we’re teaching it and how we’re coaching it," Johnson added. "I think it really starts there, at least from my lens. I think we’ll be better teachers of not only the scheme but also just the vision of what we want our brand of football to look like.”

One thing that will help the Bears focus more on fundamentals is the fact that this is the second year for most players in Johnson's offense and Allen's defense. Players have already been through the motions of learning the schemes, so focus can be applied elsewhere more often.

It takes two to tango

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley and Chicago Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Coaching better will help, but there is more involved for the Bears to improve the pass-rush in 2026 and that's getting better performances from some key players.

Namely, we have our eyes on Dayo Odeyingbo, Shemar Turner and Austin Booker, all of whom are competing for snaps opposite the Bears' top edge rusher, Montez Sweat. All three players were identified by Johnson as keys to improving the pass-rush.

"We were excited about the guys that ended up finishing the season on IR, the trajectory that they were on, both Dayo and Shemar," Johnson said. "When you look at it from the start of the season to the point where they both got injured, we saw growth and we saw them trending the right direction in terms of what we want to see on game day."

"And you saw tremendous growth from Booker when we were able to get him back as well. The combination of us being able to coach better and those guys taking the next step as part of this system, we've got some pretty good pieces to work with," he added.

Odeyingbo and Turner were both disappointing last season before they succumbed to significant injuries, which only makes them bigger wild cards.

Booker showed a ton of promise with 4.5 sacks, but the jury is still out on just what the former fifth-round pick will be in the NFL.

The Bears aren't just going to be able to coach their way out of this problem. Someone opposite Sweat has to step up big time, whether that's one, two, or all three of those players.

If not, the Bears better be ready to pivot toward the edge rusher trade market come the deadline.