This week, ESPN analyst and NFL veteran Matt Bowen appeared on 670 the Score and praised Johnson for his hiring of Allen as his defensive coordinator, and he believes the Bears are building a very strong coaching staff.

Poles was hired on Jan. 25, 2022, two days before the Bears hired Matt Eberflus as head coach. Four days after Eberflus was fired on Nov. 29 with the third-worst win percentage (.304) in franchise history, questions about Poles' job security and his role in hiring the next coach were raised during a news conference.

Ben Johnson won assistant coach of the year on Thursday night at NFL Honors. Now the head coach of the Bears, Johnson is the first Lions assistant to win the award, which began in 2014. He won it over former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn,