Ravens New OC Views Age Concern as Unique Advantage

Declan Doyle is no stranger to being the youngest offensive coordinator in the league, as he will hold the mantle for the second year in a row as the play-caller and designer for the Baltimore Ravens after serving in the same role, mostly in name only, with the Chicago Bears in 2025.

At 29 years old, he is currently the same age as franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson. Even when he turns 30 next month, he'll still be younger than two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley and five-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry, both of whom will be 32 by the time it's time to report for the offseason program.

Some skeptics of head coach Jesse Minter's hiring of Doyle associate his age with a lack of experience, but he's already been coaching in the league for nearly a decade. Others see it as a potential concern when it comes to being able to command and lead a room of what are essentially his peers; he views it as just another way he can relate and connect to players in a way more seasoned and experienced coaches can't.

"It's a little bit easier for me to connect with guys because we are the same age." OC Declan Doyle on his age pic.twitter.com/cNrFjNR0JK
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 18, 2026

"It actually is a little bit easier for me to connect with guys, because we are the same age," Doyle said. "We grew up in the same world."

At every step of his coaching journey, dating back to his apprenticeship as a sophomore in college at the University of Iowa, Doyle has been accustomed to being at or around the same age as the players he's worked with. That trend continued when he made it to the league first as an offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints and then, after he followed Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos as a tight ends coach.

"I started this is going to be my 11th year of coaching, and pretty much been younger than every guy in the room I've been in," Doyle said. "I've always been too young for every job I've ever had. And what I've noticed is that, you know, it really doesn't matter."

Doyle is a firm believer in the mantra that "knowledge is power," and what he has learned over his time as a coach is that if players feel like a coach can help them be successful and advance their respective careers, his age isn't an issue.

"Guys are willing to be taught and to grow and to work together so it is a collaboration," Doyle said. "I do think it gives me a little bit of a unique advantage, just in the fact that we kind of come from the same world."

Minter says age was not a factor in hiring Doyle

Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter at his introductory press conference at Under Armour Performance Center. — Jan 29, 2026; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Jesse Minter at press conference at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Lexi Thompson-Imagn Images | Lexi Thompson-Imagn Images

As soon as it was made clear that Todd Monken would not be returning as the Ravens offensive coordinator despite being the architect of the most prolific offense in franchise history for the first two of his three seasons in Baltimore, finding his replacement became paramount.

When Minter was being talked about as a future head coach candidate during last year's cycle following a tremendously successful first season as the Los Angele Chargers defensive coordinator, he began to imagine what his potential staff would look like on the other side of the ball. He admired what Bears head coach Ben Johnson had done with the Detroit Lions and was building in Chicago.

"The basis was really looking at systems," Minter said. "[I] heard a lot of great things about Declan from a lot of people. It's hard to pinpoint one, but everybody that had been around them, everybody was very, very highly recommended by current head coaches in the league at various places, other people that had tried to get him the year prior, when he ended up going to Chicago... I think is where age is just a number. This is his eighth year in the National Football League, and he's worked his way up and so I think he's really well prepared for this opportunity."

Another bonus in Doyle's favor when it came to his candidacy to replace Monken was the fact that he had just helped another first-year head coach build an offensive system from the ground up in Chicago with Johnson, and he will be doing the same in Baltimore as the primary play-caller.

"Going through that first year installation, I thought that was a major benefit as we got to know each other better, that would that would help us here," Minter said.

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