The Ravens are putting a lot on Declan Doyle’s plate in 2026, and the biggest item on the menu is simple: keep Lamar Jackson operating at an MVP level.
That’s a heavy ask for any offensive coordinator, let alone one making his first run as the lead playcaller at 30 years old. But Baltimore didn’t bring Doyle in to play it safe. They paired him with one of the most electric quarterbacks the league has ever seen, and the ceiling is obvious if the two click right away.
Jackson has already shown what happens when the offense gets the formula right. He won an MVP in each of Greg Roman’s and Todd Monken’s first seasons as offensive coordinator, and now Doyle is the next man charged with meeting that same standard.
The challenge isn’t just getting Jackson back on track after an injury-riddled campaign. It’s also helping him keep that level in January and pushing the Ravens past the playoff wall that’s haunted them.
CBS Sports’ Evan Washburn made it clear just how much pressure sits on Doyle’s shoulders.
"“This relationship and the chemistry between Lamar Jackson and Declan Doyle is the most important thing for this Ravens team,” Washburn said. “If Declan Doyle and Lamar Jackson aren’t on the same page, this team can’t get off to the start they need to get off to, but also reach the goals that they weren’t able to last year in terms of making the playoffs.
Lamar’s on offensive coordinator number four…Greg Roman helped him get to an MVP-caliber season; Todd Monken helped him get to an MVP season. That’s the standard for Declan Doyle.”"
Washburn’s point lands because the bar in Baltimore is no mystery. Doyle doesn’t just need to design a workable offense. He needs to help Jackson stay in the groove that turns good seasons into award-winning ones.
And while Doyle is young, he’s hardly new to this. He’s entering his eighth season in the league, which means he’s been around since he was 22.
He’s also spent plenty of time learning from some of the sharpest offensive minds around. From 2019 to 2022, he was on Sean Payton’s staff with the New Orleans Saints as an offensive assistant.
He then worked with Payton again from 2023 to 2024 as the Denver Broncos’ tight ends coach, before spending last year alongside Ben Johnson as the Chicago Bears’ offensive coordinator.
That mix matters. Doyle brings both the old-school structure of a veteran coach and the newer, more aggressive ideas that have taken over the league.
One piece of that approach should fit Baltimore especially well: play action. The Bears were second in play action rate last year, and that’s an area where Jackson has always been dangerous.
Even though Doyle wasn’t calling plays in Chicago in 2025, he was still part of the game-planning process, and that offense finished in the top 10 in both passing and rushing. With the talent Baltimore already has in place, Doyle has a real chance to make the transition smoothly and maybe even push the Ravens to a level they haven’t quite reached yet.
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