Declan Doyle is like the vice president of the Bears’ offense — in a position of authority, but as an offensive coordinator under a play-calling head coach, nobody really knows what he does. The Bears’ offense is Ben Johnson’s offense.
So what is the 28-year-old Doyle’s job? To make Johnson’s job easier. And to make Johnson look good. He’s the table-setter of the Bears’ offense.
“That’s a good way to describe it,” said Doyle, a Sean Payton disciple as the Broncos’ tight ends coach the past two seasons after four years as an offensive assistant under Payton and Dennis Allen with the Saints. “Ben is gonna have less time than he’s ever had as a play-caller.
“I think that’s the kind of thing that’s morphing as we go — to try and figure out what that looks like. My job is really gonna be to organize and detail the game play initially, utilizing our staff … how we’re gonna build this thing schematically as we attack a defense.
“Basically, I have to do that work that he’s not gonna have time to do, and he’s going to have to be able to trust me that I’m gonna give him the correct information he needs as a decision-maker.”
Doyle knows how important that trust is. And in six seasons with Payton, he’s seen how offensive coordinators Pete Carmichael (Saints) and Joe Lombardi (Broncos) have made it work.
“The biggest thing is [that] you’re on the same page [with] the play-caller,” Doyle said. “Me and Ben are gonna have to spend a ton of time together diving into film. I’m really excited to do that, and make sure I see the game the same way he sees it — to orchestrate and set the table for him and make sure we’re doing it the way he wants to do it.”
Doyle is one of the first tests of Johnson’s new authority as a first-time head coach — hiring good assistant coaches. Hiring Allen as defensive coordinator was a relatively easy call — Allen has verifiable credentials as an NFL defensive coordinator.
But Doyle is a bit of a wild-card, at least publicly. As an offensive assistant with the Saints and tight end coach with the Broncos, he lacks quantifiable credentials that would separate him from the pack of NFL assistants. But coaches know, and Doyle has a reputation as a future star in coaching.
“The No. 1 thing that stands out,” said Allen, who retained Doyle when he was replaced Payton as the Saints head coach in 2021, “the moment you meet him … you sense a highly intelligent person; a guy that’s been around the game; a guy that understands the game from a multitude of different perspectives. I just think he’s a really good, bright young coach that has a really good future.”
As for Caleb Williams, Doyle said he could not give a full evaluation because he hasn’t seen enough of his rookie tape yet. But he knows he’s got a lot to work with.
“I didn’t spend a ton of time [watching Williams] — I’m not in the same division, like Ben got to see him on crossover film quite a bit,” Doyle said. “We’re pretty early in the process. Obviously in the draft process [last year], the arm talent — it’s crazy. He’s a very impressive player.”
“I think the biggest thing is just the talent of the kid, the ability to use his legs. He is a tough kid. You see it on tape. His ability to evade the pocket [and] create is a special thing. It’s something that I got to see with Bo [Nix] in Denver last year. That ability to evade and put pressure on a defense and kind of be the eraser of game-planning mistakes, that’s really exciting about him.”
