‘Best offense in the league’ — Ravens OC Declan Doyle is earning early buzz OTAs and if it pays off, he won’t be in Baltimore very long
Baltimore Ravens new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle earned some strong praise from his fellow coaches and offensive players following Tuesday’s OTA session as the team continues laying out the offensive scheme.
When the Baltimore Ravens hired new head coach Jesse Minter this offseason, the top priority became who will Minter hire to lead one of the league’s top offensive units and he turned his attention to an unlikely name.
Instead of hiring a proven coach or plucking off one of the Harbaugh trees, Minter instead decided to name Declan Doyle as his offensive coordinator, the former offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears who assisted with head coach Ben Johnson’s offense.
Coming to Baltimore was a no-brainer move for Doyle despite the success he had last season in Chicago. This move ensured he would be fully responsible for the offense and the supporting cast offers a lot to be excited about.
Declan Doyle is looking to build the best offense in the league with the Baltimore Ravens
The 30-year-old offensive coordinator remains the youngest offensive coordinator in the NFL and is even younger than some of his new players. Age hasn’t been a concern so far for Doyle’s coaching career and a big reason why is because of what he’s building.
“He is like a human computer,” Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said Tuesday of Doyle. “When he starts spitting out offensive information and plays from his past – he’s got like a rolodex of plays in his head – it’s almost like he has a photographic memory. I look forward to all of the things that he’s going to do for our offense. Even going against him, they do so many things right now from a cadence variation and some of their shifts and motions that cause problems [defensively] and make us have long conversations in the coaching staff room. Anytime that’s happening, you know they’re doing something right on that side of the ball.”
Offenses have rarely progressed this far, this early in the offseason, while adapting to a new offensive coordinator and a new scheme. Doyle has these guys drinking from a firehose with this new offense and so far they’re taking it all in stride.
“It’s really important during the spring,” Doyle explained. “We could kind of take it easy and not stress these guys, and it would be a lot simpler. And yet, I think growth happens on the other side of stress. We need to stress them, we need to figure out what they can handle. Because, you’re trying to figure out how can you be the most difficult to defend.”
Doyle added it’s been great working with MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and developing a relationship that’s “constantly evolving” with great communication between the two. And the other offensive stars are starting to see what this thing can become even during the early days of practice at OTAs.
Wide receiver Zay Flowers admitted the offense has taken on a lot, but Doyle keeps it digestible by delivering information quickly and clearly.
“He ain’t playing, but he’s a dawg,” Flowers added of Doyle. “You can just get that vibe from him. He’s ready to go and dial it up. He wants the offense to be the best offense in the league. That’s how he coaches it … He’s a genius. We’ve been loving it so far.”
Ravens need to enjoy it while it lasts because Declan Doyle is on a rocket ship trajectory
All of this early praise and buzz for Doyle’s offense is similar to the respect he quickly earned in Chicago working for Johnson, one of the top offensive minds in the league. And that’s before even seeing this unit on the field in a live game setting.
It’s clear Doyle has big things on the horizon and it’s one of the main reasons why Johnson was so bittersweet about losing him.
“Declan’s a phenomenal football coach,” Johnson said back in February. “If you didn’t know that he was 29-years-old, you wouldn’t blink an eye. The guy is seasoned beyond his years. This has been his calling. He’s known for a long time that he was going to be a football coach and he’s prepared himself accordingly. Very detailed oriented, extremely smart, has a great way of communicating, he’s extremely clear. Those guys are getting someone really really good. I’m disappointed that we lost him as quickly as we did. I was hoping that we’d be able to hold to him for longer.”
If all goes according to plan in 2026, and the early indications are there, Minter might be saying the same words in the near future once Doyle makes the next jump. The youngest head coach ever hired in the NFL was Sean McVay at 30 years, 353 days old. Doyle might have McVay beat if other teams bring him for head coaching interviews in the next cycle.