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Once the Chicago Bears fired Matt Eberflus and promoted Thomas Brown to their interim head coach, wide receivers coach Chris Beatty was promoted to offensive coordinator. And when asked what changed for him once becoming the Bears' offensive coordinator, Beatty gave high props to veteran receiver Keenan Allen, noting he deserves a lot of the credit.
“Keenan is really the coach,” Beatty said behind a brief chuckle. “I’m joking, but not really.”
Beatty would go on, describing what it's like to have a veteran presence like Allen in the Bears' locker room.
“Keenan could be a coach,” Beatty said. “Keenan is the smartest player that I’ve ever seen. He’s the smartest football person, not just player.”
Not only is Allen the smartest football person Beatty has met throughout his 26-year coaching career, but he's been integral in assisting the new offensive coordinator amid Chicago's coaching changes as of late.
“[Keenan Allen] sees stuff different than the rest of us,” Beatty said. “He’s a player head just like a coach would be. What he's done over the last three weeks since the initial change is, he’s been kind of my conduit for those guys, so he runs the meetings in between while they’re doing the special teams. He gets the offensive skills in there and does the meeting. He knows how I want it to look, so those guys have been joking that he’s saying my sayings, which I’m good with that. If he’s saying my stuff, that means he respects what I’m doing.”
And while Beatty is happy to have him around on the coaching side of things, star receiver DJ Moore mentioned hopefully having Allen with the Bears next season.
Keenan Allen urged to ‘run it back' with Bears next season
As a 12-year veteran in the NFL, Allen's production took a hit once he moved from the Los Angeles Chargers to the Bears, following his most productive season in 2023.
Last season, Allen hauled in a career-high 108 passes for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns. Aside from the touchdowns, each category reached a career-high for Allen, giving many the idea that he'd still be as productive with Caleb Williams and the Bears. However, following some bumps in the road, the entire Bears offense has struggled to be consistent.
And while he's lacked production this season, Allen met with the media on Thursday, mentioning that Moore told him he hopes to see him “run it back” with the team next year.
Considering Allen turns 33 this upcoming April, there's no guarantee he'll return to playing, let alone playing for the Bears.
However, after Beatty's glowing review of his coaching abilities and Moore's request, Allen could return to the Bears as a receiver coach, given the team's current vacancy.
