A day after saying his search was “very far along,” new Ravens head coach Jesse Minter has found his offensive coordinator.
Baltimore is set to hire Chicago offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who just finished his first season working under Bears head coach Ben Johnson. The difference is Doyle will now have the opportunity to call plays for the first time in his career after working for Johnson — who called the Bears’ plays in 2025 — as well as longtime NFL head coach Sean Payton in both Denver and New Orleans. The 29-year-old Doyle is the same age as quarterback Lamar Jackson and will now be entrusted to mesh with the two-time MVP coming off an injury-plagued season.
The NFL’s youngest offensive coordinator, Doyle has worked in the NFL since 2019 and comes highly regarded despite never having full autonomy over an offense. It’s also worth noting that Philadelphia was interested in him for its offensive coordinator before he withdrew from consideration. His efforts this past season helped Chicago improve to sixth in total yards, ninth in points, ninth in yards per play, and ninth in offensive DVOA after the Bears fielded one of the worst offenses in football in 2024.
Considering Doyle’s age and lack of play-calling experience, this is certainly a bold hire by Minter, who is a first-time head coach and has already confirmed his plans to call the defense after previously serving as the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers. That’s a lot of “new” for both to navigate leading a team that’s expected to return to contender status after a disappointing 2025. Of course, those concerns can be mitigated by hiring other accomplished assistants with one of those expected to be former Atlanta offensive line coach and run game coordinator Dwayne Ledford.
Doyle served as the Broncos’ tight ends coach from 2023-24, which will hopefully be good news for three-time Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews as he tries to reverse his statistical decline over the last two seasons.
