The Chicago Bears revamped their secondary with Coby Bryant in free agency and Dillon Thieneman in the draft. What excites defensive coordinator Dennis Allen about the tandem?
Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has coached his fair share of great safeties throughout his NFL coaching career.
He started coaching NFL secondaries in 2008 when he was with the New Orleans Saints and worked his way up to become a defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, Saints and Chicago Bears and as the head coach of the Oakland raiders.
In that time, he's coached Darren Sharper, Roman Harper, Tyrann Mathieu, Brian Dawkins, Charles Woodson and Kevin Byard.
Between all those safeties, there are several Pro Bowlers and All-Pro honors, including Byard, who was the only safety from that list of players to earn a Pro Bowl nod and first-team All-Pro honor for his 2025 season.
Allen shared the common trait that each of those safeties shared.
“All of them are really smart," Allen said. "I think to play that position, there's a lot of things that go on at that position. ... There's a ton of different things that you have to be able to do, and you’re getting everybody on the same page in terms not only some of the run fit stuff that we do, but also, uh, in terms of the coverage responsibility.
So there's a lot of communication that goes on at that position. And those guys have to be smart, and it's not just book smart. It’s being able to think and process alright and make really good decisions. I think that's what all the great ones really do.”
The Bears' defensive coordinator will get an opportunity to see if veteran Coby Bryant and rookie Dillon Thieneman have the right makeup to be considered the next great safeties in Allen's rolodex.
Bryant and Thieneman will both be learning Allen's defense for the first time, so it will likely take some time for the two safeties reach their highest potential. However, Byard -- who had nine years of experience before his one season with Allen -- showed it's possible.
What does intrigue Allen about working with the former Super Bowl champion and No. 25 overall pick is their "versatility."
"I’m excited to have the athletic ability to match up in coverage," Allen said. "I think that's something that I'm excited about. I do think that one of the things that we talked about, not just specifically with that position, but overall, in terms of our defense was that we really need to increase our team speed. I felt like we were able to do that with several of the draft choices."
Although safety isn't labeled as a premium position, the Bears' defensive coordinator understands how playmaking at the back end can impact his defense. He's had players of that caliber throughout his coaching career.
During last Saturday's media availability at Halas Hall for rookie minicamp, Allen praised general manager Ryan Poles and his staff for identifying the players the coaching staff coveted.
"We’re looking for smart players, we're looking for tough players, we're looking for highly competitive players," Allen said. "There was a decrease in ‘what's the 40 time, what's the height, what's the weight, what's the athletic movement skills?”, and it was ‘Are they above the line athletically?’ Alright, and then let's watch the tape and let's let their football character bleed off the tape. Every one of our players that you look at, they have great football character, and it bled off of the tape at us.”
Allen has his new duo of safeties for the 2026 NFL season, signaling the start of what can potentially become the next line of great players at the position.