Ben Johnson will lead the Bears as their head coach and shape their offense. He’s already begun the process of finding his defensive leader, too, and building his staff.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter cited league sources in reporting Monday that former Raiders and Saints head coach Dennis Allen is the leading candidate to be Johnson’s defensive coordinator.

Schefter later added that the Bears “are heavily pursuing” former Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi to be their special teams coach.

Allen served as the Saints’ head coach from 2022 until 2024, when he was let go after a 23-22 Week 9 loss to the Carolina Panthers. He also was the then-Oakland Raiders’ head coach from 2012 to 2014, and has a 26-53 overall record.

With Johnson taking the offensive reins, Johnson must find a strong defensive coordinator to lead a Bears unit that looked solid under former head coach Matt Eberflus but faltered down the stretch after his firing.

[Get to know new Bears head coach Ben Johnson]

Before Eberflus’ departure, the Bears’ defense allowed 30 or more points just once in 12 games and averaged 344.5 yards yielded per game. After his firing, the defense allowed 30 or more points in three consecutive games and 377.6 yards per contest. They allowed 400 or more yards in four of their final five games.

Allen, 52, served as New Orleans’ defensive coordinator for seven seasons under Sean Payton before being promoted to head coach after Payton’s retirement. The Saints had a top-10 defense in yards allowed in Allen’s final two seasons as coordinator and his first season as head coach. They ranked in the top 10 in points allowed in five of his 10 seasons in New Orleans.

The defensive unit — and the entire team — struggled in 2024 before his departure, though. The Saints ranked 30th out of 32 teams in yards allowed and 19th in points allowed — the worst since Allen’s second year in New Orleans.

Allen was the Denver Broncos’ defensive coordinator in 2011, after five seasons in New Orleans as a defensive assistant. He was on Payton’s Saints staff that won Super Bowl XLIV as the defensive line coach.