Doyle on his role as OC, what he sees in Caleb Williams |
CHICAGO—The Bears' hiring of Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator last season was a failed experiment. Thomas Brown's interim role seemed to work for a few weeks, but then he became the interim head coach but remained the offensive play-caller. Chicago opted not to keep Brown and instead chose a youthful option in Declan Doyle.
Doyle has never been an offensive coordinator at any level of coaching before. He served as a coaching assistant with the University of Iowa before getting his first job in the NFL in 2019 as an offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints. Then, he spent the past two years as the tight ends coach for the Denver Broncos before being named Chicago’s latest offensive coordinator. At 28 years old, he will be younger than some of the players in the locker room. However, he believes his authority comes from his knowledge rather than age. “I think knowledge is power and that is what the guys care about ultimately. Last year was the first time that I’ve ever actually been older than all the players in my room and so, (this) is going to be my tenth year,” Doyle said. “But, that’s really been a part of my journey to this point. But, I think players care about, ‘Can you help me?’ first and foremost, ‘Can you put me in a position to be successful, to help the organization and my family?’ and that’s earned. You have to put in the work and earn that trust and that confidence and that’s my plan here, hit the ground running and go to work.” While Chicago’s newest head coach, Ben Johnson, will call the offensive plays, Doyle will still be responsible for ensuring the offensive game plan is ready for game days. His success in this new role will be critical for the Bears’ offensive production next season. “Ben is going to have less time than he’s ever had as a play caller, and so, obviously, I think that that’s kind of a thing that’s morphing as we go, kind of figure out what that looks like. But, my job is really going to be to organize and detail the game plan initially, utilizing our staff. Everybody will have different assignments. (That’s how) we’re going to build this thing schematically as we attack an offense,” Doyle said. “But, basically, I have to do that he’s not going to have time to do and he’s going to have to be able to trust me that I’m going to be able to give him the correct information that he needs as a decision maker and then, really throughout the week, streamlining the teaching progression for the players, making sure that everything is built around them. Myself, Ben and the rest of the staff, we’re not going to take a snap this year. We have to ensure that our players understand their toolbox so they can go out and play fast and at a high level.” Quarterback Caleb Williams is now on his fourth offensive coordinator after the turmoil of his rookie season when he had two head coaches and three offensive coordinators. While Doyle has not had the chance to see much of Williams in the NFL, he did see his tape from college, as the Broncos were also in the market for a quarterback. “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,” Doyle said. “Obviously, the communication and all that stuff. But, his second act, his ability to evade the pocket, his ability to create is a special thing, and it’s something I got to see in (quarterback) Bo (Nix) in Denver last year, that ability to evade and put pressure on the defense and be the eraser of game-planning mistakes. I think that’s really exciting about him.” Williams has a lot of talent, and he has talented receivers such as veteran DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. However, if this offense is going to have any measure of success next season, it will be crucial for them to rebuild the offense line so that Williams is not sacked nearly 70 times this upcoming year like he was in his rookie season.
