When Chris Beatty entered the NFL in 2021 as Chargers receivers coach after 15 years as a college assistant, he was already familiar with one of the team's star players.
"It's amazing because I was in college and we would watch Keenan Allen cutups," said the Bears interim offensive coordinator. "And then the next thing, I'm in front of him coaching him and I'm like, 'OK, how am I going to tell this guy how to run these routes when I've been teaching our guys off of his stuff?'"
Beatty was relieved to discover that Allen welcomed his coaching and has enjoyed serving as his position coach the past four seasons, three with the Chargers and this year with the Bears.
"I appreciate Keenan more than I could really express because he's allowed me to coach him," Beatty said. "I think there's a lot of stars in this league that don't want to be coached. But then, the great ones allow you to coach them and try to help make them better. I appreciate that.
"And I think the fans should appreciate the fact that he gives it everything he has. He sits back and coaches our guys. He has a meeting with all the skill guys on Thursdays to be able to just talk about it and say, 'hey, this is how we see it, make sure the quarterback sees it the same,' and we're all kind of seeing things the same because he's an encyclopedia of football."
Since Allen was selected by the Chargers in the third round of the 2013 draft, he ranks third in the NFL with 971 receptions and fifth with 11,249 receiving yards. This season he leads the Bears with seven touchdowns and ranks second behind fellow receiver DJ Moore with 67 receptions for 719 yards.
A six-time Pro Bowler, his experience and knowledge has helped quarterback Caleb Williams and receiver Rome Odunze assimilate to the NFL as rookies. Williams has passed for 3,393 yards with 19 TDs and six interceptions, while Odunze has joined Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka as the only Bears rookies to catch at least 50 passes for 700 yards.
"To come to this situation, we're all trying to learn something new," Beatty said. "We're trying to learn how everyone works, and sometimes those things are difficult. But I do think he's one of those types of guys that's a quarterback's best friend. I think Caleb would probably come tell you the same thing. You know where he's going to be because he knows defenses better than most coaches do."
Beatty feels that Allen has taught Odunze "how to be a pro."
"You sit back and you learn how to study, how to learn, how systems work," Beatty said. "That's been a big process for Rome, and then it's some of the details within a route, the top of the route, some of the wiggle and some of the stuff that he does that Rome's game actually fits … The biggest thing is learning, 'How do I learn defenses, how do I learn to be able to speed up my game seeing what the defense does?'"
