Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson shares high praise for Baltimore Ravens' newest offensive coordinator, Declan Doyle.
The Baltimore Ravens have retooled their coaching staff. Long-time head coach John Harbaugh is gone, with Jesse Minter taking his place.
It’s a new era in Baltimore, and with that comes change. Minter will shape the team around the identity he wants to establish, starting with new additions like offensive coordinator Declan Doyle.
The Ravens hired Doyle in early February to serve as their new offensive play caller. Last season, Doyle served as the Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator under first-year head coach Ben Johnson.
Johnson was asked about Doyle at the NFL Scouting Combine, and he had nothing but tremendous things to say about him.
“Declan is a phenomenal football coach," Johnson said. "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. [He's] very detail-oriented, extremely smart, has a great way of communicating; he’s very 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 onto him for longer.”
Johnson understands the Bears lost a valuable piece, and Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta knows they gained one.
"He's smart, has great vision and is a good communicator," DeCosta said. " I had the chance to interview him over Zoom at the Senior Bowl and also in person in Baltimore. He's driven [and] I think relentlessly committed to his vision for what his offense is going to look like. I think he's going to work well with the players. I think he's going to be exciting."
Doyle became a new play-caller in the NFL last season, but he has certainly made an impression. He led the Bears' offense to a high-powered, top 10 unit that ranked sixth in total yards and ninth in scoring.
He will now bring that to the Ravens, who underachieved last season. Baltimore left a lot of meat on the bone, and injuries did not help their cause. The Ravens struggled with efficiency, ranking poorly in the red zone (28th in red-zone touchdown efficiency) and experienced issues with offensive line consistency.
The offense was inconsistent and lacked explosive efficiency. However, that is all expected to change with Doyle as the offensive coordinator.