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October 16, 2025 / 8:27 PM CDT / CBS Chicago
First-time head coach Ben Johnson called Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen a "godsend" as he leans on an assistant who's been in the hot seat before.
Johnson might be picking Allen's brain even more this week with some familiar faces coming to town on Sunday.
Allen isn't making too much of facing his former team on Sunday when the Bears host the Saints at Soldier Field. He said the focus is on getting a fourth-straight win.
The Bears defensive coordinator was fired in the middle of his third season as New Orleans' head coach last year.
"I spent 15 out of my 24 years in the league at that place, so obviously I've got a lot of fond memories of being there, and yet it's another game, and that's where our focus is this week. I think we've got a good opponent. I think this is a team, as you watch the tape, that continues to get better," he said.
Getting a win on Sunday would mean something to his current defense.
"It does to me personally," safety Kevin Byard said. "I know DA is not going say that, and he hasn't said it. But, I just kind of understand that this game will mean a little bit more to him. But I think as a defense, and just us as players, we want to be able to win this game for him."
With a chance to make it four straight wins against the 1-5 Saints on Sunday, Byard was quick to remind fans the Bears haven't done enough to look past anyone.
"Regardless of record, you know, everybody in this league is a talented team, and on any given Sunday, you can lose to anybody, regardless of what the records are, and I look at a team like the Saints just been getting better every single week," he said. "I know they lost last week, but they played a tough game against the Patriots, and obviously they beat the Giants, so that's a team that I think they're gaining confidence. They have a lot of pride on both sides of the ball. I just think, for us, we just have to go out there, make sure we handle business."
A defense that's been bent – especially by the run – but not broken is hoping to keep the Saints from marching all over them on Sunday.
While the Bears are near the bottom of the league in yards and points allowed, their 12 takeaways are second only to the Jaguars, and their +8 turnover differential is tied for tops in the NFL.
Tyrique Stevenson, who has an interception and a forced fumble through five games, credits the ball-hawking mentality of the entire unit.
"The belief that the guys that we are instilling in this defense, that every day we come in we talk about getting interceptions. We talk about it in practice. We talk about it just in general. Like, watching film, 'You see that? We can get that.' So we're just making sure that we're ball conscious and that everybody is believing in it," he said.
Allen isn't the only Bears coach who has familiarity with the Saints.
Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle's NFL coaching career began in New Orleans in 2019 as an offensive assistant under Sean Payton. Any additional insight on a short week is helpful.