Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle has taken seven head coach interview requests in the past eleven days, according to two people with direct knowledge of the league's hiring cycle. Three organizations have submitted formal permission requests to Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta. Doyle turned 37 in November, placing him four months younger than Sean McVay was when the Rams hired him in 2017.
Doyle coordinated Baltimore's offense through a 13-4 regular season that finished third in points per game and second in third-down conversion rate. The Ravens scored 30.2 points per contest, up from 24.8 in Doyle's first season as coordinator. Quarterback Lamar Jackson posted a career-high 107.4 passer rating and Baltimore ranked first in rushing attempts per game for the third consecutive year. Doyle's scheme blends motion rates above 60 percent pre-snap with a run-pass option package that NFL defensive coordinators now dedicate Wednesday practices to countering.
The interview volume creates a narrow window problem for DeCosta. Baltimore's defensive staff negotiated one-year extensions in late December, and the organization must decide by February 15 whether to elevate from within or pursue an external defensive coordinator if Doyle departs. The Ravens have $18.3 million in effective cap space before restructures, and coordinator-level salaries have moved past $3 million annually for top-tier hires following Brian Flores' reported three-year, $10 million Minnesota deal last cycle. DeCosta has told confidants he prefers promoting secondary coach Chris Hewitt to defensive coordinator, which would preserve budget for two offensive assistant hires if Doyle's position opens.
Three teams appear willing to test Baltimore's retention price: the Saints, who interviewed Doyle for 90 minutes last Thursday; the Titans, whose ownership group values offensive infrastructure after watching $92 million guaranteed to Ryan Tannehill yield one playoff win in four years; and the Panthers, where owner David Tepper has cycled through four head coaches since 2020 and recently told investors he wants "someone under forty who understands the passing game." Doyle's agent, Bob LaMonte, has negotiated nine head coach contracts since 2015, six of which included partial front-office authority over roster construction. Baltimore cannot offer that leverage.
The McVay comparison carries weight beyond the age metric. Doyle worked under Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta for two seasons before joining Baltimore as a senior offensive assistant in 2019. His offensive tree matches the Shanahan-McVay branch that now controls seven NFL offenses. Teams looking to replicate the Rams' or 49ers' motion-heavy, pre-snap manipulation schemes see Doyle as a direct lineage hire without the coordinator premium commanded by Shanahan's longer-tenured assistants. That perception drives value: McVay signed a five-year, $8.5 million annual deal in 2017; first-time offensive head coaches now command between $6 million and $9 million per year, with performance escalators tied to playoff berths.
DeCosta's decision point arrives between Baltimore's divisional playoff exit and the league's February 28 combine window, when formal second interviews conclude. If Doyle accepts a head coaching position, the Ravens will lose their third offensive coordinator in six years. The organization promoted from within twice previously—Greg Roman in 2019, then Doyle in 2022—and both times retained schematic continuity that preserved Jackson's development arc. Losing Doyle to an external hire forces DeCosta to either expand his coordinator salary range or rebuild offensive infrastructure during a season where Baltimore holds $22 million committed to a wide receiver room that ranked 27th in separation rate.
The Saints complete second interviews by January 27. Tennessee's ownership group meets January 29 to review finalists. Doyle's agent will know before February whether his client breaks McVay's record or returns to Baltimore with leverage for a three-year extension that would reset the coordinator market above $4 million annually.