3 Bears on Thin Ice With Declan Doyle as Offensive Coordinator

The Bears hired Declan Doyle to be their next offensive coordinator under Ben Johnson. Doyle is just 28 years old, making him the youngest coordinator in the NFL. This is potentially a red flag to some fans, but knowing where he came from will likely change some of those minds.

Doyle started his coaching career under Sean Payton with the New Orleans Saints from 2019 to 2022 and then followed Payton to the Denver Broncos where he served as the tight ends coach up until this year.

Certain coaches in the NFL constantly get their staff picked away from them in hopes that they can replicate the success that said coach had. We constantly hear about coaches coming from the McVay tree or Shanahan tree. Well, Sean Payton is another one of those guys with a proven track record to look to for ties with coaching candidates.

The fact that Payton brought Doyle with him to Denver should show how highly he was viewed by one of the great minds in the league. The Bears offense will still ultimately be run by Ben Johnson, but a young upcoming coach with ties to Sean Payton should have Bears fans hyped. Doyle and Johnson will be picking apart this offensive roster and trying to build the best unit they can. Let's take a look at a few guys that will be in question with this hiring.

1. Gerald Everett, TE

There is an argument to be made that Everett simply was not utilized to the best of his ability in his first season with the Bears. There is another argument to be made that he is quite frankly not the player he once was and his best days are behind him. His 13 targets, 8 receptions, and 0 touchdowns were career lows across the board.

Sean Payton knows a thing or two about coaching tight ends as he was Jimmy Graham's coach during his run as one of the best in the NFL. Jared Cook had a couple of solid years in 2019-20 as well while Doyle was a part of the staff. Doyle, being a tight ends coach, has had ties to the passing game as well as the running game so will likely be able to provide Johnson with some aspects of Payton's offense to pair with his own.

Everett is not a great blocker and doesn't look like the passing threat that he once was so it will be interesting to see what exactly his role is in the offense if there is any. The Bears do not currently have much depth at tight end after Cole Kmet with Everett underperforming and Marcedes Lewis being 12 years older than Doyle. The draft is not looking to be great at the position, but perhaps Doyle and Johnson can come together to find some depth somewhere - whether that be in the draft or free agency.