Ahead of the Bears' first training camp practice Wednesday, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen offered high praise for safety Coby Bryant, the team's top free-agent acquisition, who played an integral role on the Seahawks' Super Bowl LX-winning defense last season.

"I love his play style," Allen told reporters Wednesday. "I think it epitomizes the way that we want to play the game. He plays fast. He plays violent. He's smart. He's instinctive. He just does a lot of really good things. He was an impressive guy to watch on tape."

Specific plays flashed through Allen's mind as he spoke about Bryant's play style, which he described as tough and nasty, with the safety flying downhill from the middle of the field and making a tackle that knocked an opposing player backward.

The thought of that type of physicality on his defense was more than enough to have Allen hyped up at 7:45 a.m.

"I think when you watched him on [Seattle's] defense, I thought his play demeanor was contagious," Allen added, "and that's kind of what I'm hoping that he brings, and I believe he will bring that type of mindset to our team."

A few hours later, Bryant spoke to the media following his first training camp practice as a Bear. He doubled down on Allen's comments, expressing his desire to lead by example and elevate the Bears defense.

"That's why I'm here — to bring guys along," Bryant said. "We've got a ton of great players throughout this team, especially on defense as well. We want to be well known not just [because of] coach Ben and the offense, but especially powerful on defense as well. We want to create our name as far as turnovers, play style, mentality – that's something we want to bring to this team."

Bryant signed with the Bears in March after four seasons in Seattle, where he appeared in 58 games with 34 starts. Over the past two seasons, he totaled 139 tackles, 13 passes defensed, seven interceptions and two forced fumbles after transitioning from cornerback to safety. During last year's Super Bowl run, Bryant started all three games for the Seahawks, registering 10 tackles and two passes defensed.

The Cleveland native has already begun channeling that experience into assuming a captain-like role for the Bears, especially since earning the captain's patch is one of his goals heading into the 2026 season.

"That's the mindset I've had since I came into the league," Bryant said. "Obviously as a rookie, it's a lot harder but now that it's Year 5, that's something that I take pride in. That's actually one of my goals. I write my goals out every year and put them on my mirror as a reminder. That's something I always keep in camp and that's something that's on there for sure."

While Bryant didn't disclose all of his 2026 goals, he added that winning another Super Bowl is certainly included. Bryant knows that in order to achieve that goal, the work has to be put in during the summer and he needs to remain consistent — a point of emphasis Allen also made Wednesday morning.

"The biggest thing is just taking it one day at a time," Bryant said. "It's Day 1. A lot of guys have energy and are full speed today. The biggest thing is, like I said to the guys, how you feel Day 4, Day 5. It's a mindset thing. Just take it one play at a time, one day at a time and just know your responsibility, help guys along with you and bring them along as well."

Along with being consistent, Bryant hammered home the importance of a tight-knit locker room to breed team success. While the safety said he's typically not the most talkative player on the roster, he plans to be more vocal and proactive in bringing the group together outside of Halas Hall.

"That's something I've seen since I've been in the league five years," Bryant said. "That's something we have to do is not just be connected in the building, but outside the building as well. We're brothers at the end of the day, and we're in this together."

Forming those close friendships away from Halas Hall will take time, but at the facility, those bonds are already being formed, including on defense. As part of an initiation into Allen's unit, every player had to complete 40 up-downs at the start of Wednesday's practice, a buy-in method the coordinator also enacted last season.

Bryant viewed the exercise as "a true testament to who's been working" since the Bears broke for summer break in mid-June. While he joked that the up-downs were "pretty easy," Bryant made it clear that the drill won't be the last challenge the group endures, and in order to reach their goal of being a championship team, learning to face those challenges together is an integral step of their journey.

"It wasn't bad," Bryant said. "It's a mindset thing, honestly. Like I told the guys, we're going to deal with way harder stuff, and 40 up-downs is just allowing us to buy in. No one was on their own out there. We were all together."