Declan Doyle, Baltimore's offensive coordinator, is 34 years old and fielding inquiries from teams beginning their head coach searches. If hired before his 35th birthday in late March, he would eclipse Sean McVay's record as the youngest head coach in modern NFL history. McVay was 30 years, 11 months when the Rams announced him in January 2017.
Doyle took the Ravens' coordinator role in February 2023 after three seasons as quarterbacks coach under Greg Roman. Baltimore averaged 27.1 points per game in 2024, fourth in the league, while Lamar Jackson posted a 108.2 passer rating and the run game produced 156.3 yards per contest, second-best in the AFC. The offense ranked third in EPA per play through Week 15, per TruMedia. Doyle's contract runs through January 2026 at an estimated $2.1 million annually, standard for a second-year coordinator but well below the $3.5 million to $5 million range for veteran play-callers.
Four teams have openings as of mid-December: Chicago, New Orleans, Jacksonville, and the New York Jets. Two more—Las Vegas and Carolina—are considered likely to move before the regular season ends. Chicago and Jacksonville have already requested permission to interview Doyle under league rules that allow coordinators to speak with other clubs during the final two weeks of the season. New Orleans has not yet filed paperwork but is known to be compiling a list that includes younger offensive minds. The Jets dismissed Robert Saleh in October and are operating under interim Jeff Ulbrich, who has stated he does not expect to be retained.
The age angle creates unusual leverage. Teams hiring Doyle lock in a decade-plus runway with a coordinator who has worked exclusively in one offensive system—Baltimore's run-heavy, play-action scheme built around a dual-threat quarterback. That's narrow experience compared to McVay, who had coordinated in Washington for three years under two head coaches, or Kyle Shanahan, who called plays in Cleveland, Washington, and Atlanta before San Francisco hired him at 37. Doyle has never called plays for a pocket passer or managed an offense without an elite rushing attack. His lone season as lead coordinator came with a roster that ranked second in the NFL in total salary cap allocation to offensive skill positions, per Over the Cap, giving him premium ingredients and minimal rebuild exposure.
Baltimore would receive a compensatory third-round pick if Doyle leaves for a head coaching role, standard under the league's minority hiring incentive expanded in 2020. Doyle is Irish-American and does not qualify under the Rooney Rule's diversity requirements, but the Ravens still benefit from the coordinator-to-head-coach compensation structure. General manager Eric DeCosta has not commented publicly on Doyle's market but promoted pass game coordinator Tee Martin to assistant head coach in November, a move interpreted internally as succession planning. Martin, 50, has no play-calling experience but spent five seasons under Doyle learning Baltimore's system.
The Jets present the cleanest fit on paper. Owner Woody Johnson has twice hired young offensive coaches—Adam Gase at 40 in 2019, Robert Saleh with offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur at 34 in 2021—and the roster includes $107 million in committed cap space for 2025, enough to rebuild around quarterback Aaron Rodgers or pivot to a cheaper veteran. Chicago offers Justin Fields or Caleb Williams as a foundational piece but comes with a meddling ownership structure that has churned through four head coaches since 2015. Jacksonville has $68 million in cap space and Trevor Lawrence under contract through 2030, but general manager Trent Baalke remains in place and has clashed with two previous head coaches. New Orleans is over the cap by $62 million and carries the highest organizational uncertainty.
Doyle's agent, Trace Armstrong of Wasserman, has negotiated three head coach deals in the past two hiring cycles, including Dan Campbell's extension in Detroit and DeMeco Ryans' entry in Houston. Armstrong typically pushes for contract structures that include offset language, stadium operations clauses, and assistant salary pools above $10 million annually, terms that smaller-market teams balk at but that the Jets and Bears can absorb. McVay's first Rams contract paid $4 million per year over four years; the current market for unproven first-time head coaches with coordinator pedigree runs $6 million to $8 million annually with rolling guarantees.
Teams begin formal second interviews during the week following Wild Card weekend. Doyle is expected to meet with at least three clubs in person before the end of January, assuming Baltimore does not advance past the Divisional Round. If the Ravens reach the AFC Championship, those meetings slide into early February, tightening the hiring timeline but raising Doyle's profile further. Chicago, which finished 5-11 and missed the playoffs, can move fastest and has already scheduled five coordinator interviews for the first week of January.
The youngest-coach narrative will follow Doyle through every interview, but the decision comes down to offensive scheme portability and whether a front office believes Baltimore's system transfers without Jackson. McVay brought Sean McVay concepts; Doyle brings Greg Roman refinements. One became a model, the other a modifier. The gap matters when the contract is five years and the owner is explaining the hire to luxury suite holders who remember the last 34-year-old experiment.
Contracts for Doyle's potential hires—defensive coordinator, special teams coach, offensive line coach—will surface by mid-February. Those names and salary figures will clarify whether this is a serious build or a headline grab.
The takeaway
Doyle's age is leverage, but his scheme is narrow; teams pay for runway or portability, rarely both at once.
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