Declan Doyle Wants to Help Lamar Jackson Chase Greatness

Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle has already enjoyed talking with Lamar Jackson and can't wait to start coaching him.

"I was able to sit with him for over an hour on a Zoom call while he was down in Florida," Doyle said at Wednesday's introductory press conference. "We talked about a lot of different subjects. What his vision is, what he needs to be able to operate at the highest level.

"I really wanted to see if we were compatible and if that was a fit. I've had a chance to visit with him a few more times since then, exchanged some texts. Certainly excited about the caliber of player he is."

Entering his ninth season, Jackson is already a two-time MVP (2019, 2023). He enjoyed his best statistical season in 2024 when he set career highs for touchdown passes (41) and passing yards (4,172). Baltimore also had the NFL's No. 1 offense that season, and Jackson became the first player in league history to throw for more than 4,000 yards and rush for more than 800 yards in the same season.

However, Jackson suffered through an injury-plagued 2025 season, throwing for his fewest yards (2,542) since 2022 while being sacked 36 times. Not only did Jackson miss four games, but the Ravens missed the playoffs.

The goal for Jackson and Doyle in 2026 is similar - for Jackson to return to being the NFL's most dominant quarterback, and for Baltimore to have the league's most prolific offense. In his initial conversations with Jackson, Doyle heard a 29-year-old quarterback who's eager to ascend even higher. Doyle is the league's youngest coordinator and the same age as Jackson, and they are already connecting when they communicate.

"His willingness to listen, his hunger to learn, his hunger to grow," Doyle said. "He's a guy with a growth mindset. He's played at a really high level, and still, I think he wants to continue to work and feels like he can get better. Me and the rest of the staff are really excited to chase that with him."

Doyle said on "The Lounge" podcast that he has yet to decide if he will call plays from the sidelines or the coach's box. It's one of many things he has already discussed with Jackson as their working and personal relationship evolves.

"[Jackson] said he's never had a coach call it from the field. I'd like to experience both and work through it with the staff. We'll kind of try both and figure out what's more comfortable."

As the Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator last season, Doyle coached a quarterback in Caleb Williams who turned some plays that could have been disastrous into touchdowns. Jackson has been doing that for years, and Doyle looks forward to seeing that.

"The quarterback is the eraser of game-planning errors or mistakes," Doyle said. "If there's 'We expect a certain coverage and we didn't get it,' at that time, the quarterback's going to put the cape on and be Superman. That's the similarity between their games. Lamar does have the ability to go do that at times."

Watching tape of Jackson, Doyle sees a quarterback with so many tools in his bag, and he wants to use them all. Doyle and Jackson are taking the early steps to build a relationship that helps the Ravens' offense take off.

"The biggest thing with him, the challenge for a defense, is that they have to defend two plays on every play," Doyle said. "They have to defend the first play that we call that we have designed and game-planned, trying to stress the defense. And then they have to defend the second element, him creating on his own, that second act. The stuff that he's done since he was a kid.

"That first play can be more consistent at times, with his eyes, with his footwork, within the system. That's kind of what I've noticed as we've watched the tape. As soon as he gets in here, I'm really fired up to sit with him and start to talk through all that stuff."

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