Windy City Gridiron
The 45-year coaching veteran now joins Dennis Allen and the Bears’ defensive staff in the Windy City.
The Chicago Bears’ defensive staff is taking shape following the hiring of Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator. Their latest hire brings with him one of the longest and most storied careers of any assistant coach in the business. Over four decades of experience to be exact.
Per Aaron Wilson of Houston’s KPRC, the Bears are hiring defensive line coach Bill Johnson. He was most recently the defensive line coach for the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL.
He comes to the Windy City with over 45 years of coaching experience between the NCAA, NFL, and UFL to his resume. In 1980 he began his career with Northwestern State as a graduate assistant before formally taking over as their defensive line / outside linebackers coach. He’d make his debut on the NFL sidelines in 2001 with the Atlanta Falcons as their defensive line coach.
During his time with Atlanta he met Dennis Allen while the latter served as a defensive quality control coach. The accolades from Dennis’ work between the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, and Los Angeles Rams alone are worthy of praise. Players who were coached under Bill Johnson include All-Pros Aaron Donald, Cam Jordan, Rod Coleman, and Patrick Kerney. He’s also won National Championships with LSU (2019) and Miami (1987) along with one Super Bowl (XLIV) and most recently the UFL (2024).
The Bears already have excellent pieces to build with between DT Gervon Dexter Sr. and DE Montez Sweat. With a couple more pieces, under the watchful eye of Bill Johnson, this pass rush up front could turn deadly. A most fitting hire for Dennis Allen who’s stated he wants an aggressive mindset on defense.
