Reports: Bears hiring former Iowa student assistant Declan Doyle as offensive coordinator

IOWA CITY — A former Iowa football student assistant is quickly climbing the ranks in the NFL.

The Chicago Bears are hiring Declan Doyle to be their next offensive coordinator, according to several media reports (including ESPN, NFL Network and the Chicago Tribune).

Doyle, 28, will step into the coordinator role in Chicago after two seasons as the tight ends coach for the Denver Broncos. Before that, he spent four seasons as an offensive assistant for the New Orleans Saints. He worked under longtime NFL coach (and past Super Bowl champion) Sean Payton in both jobs.

His coaching career began as an offensive student assistant for the Iowa football program from 2016-18. The business management student transferred to Iowa after one year at Iowa Western Community College, where he was a captain on the baseball team.

Doyle will lead a Bears offense that ranked last in 2024 with 284.6 yards per game and 28th out of 32 teams with 18.2 points per game. He will have the benefit of working with some young talent, though, including 2024 first overall pick Caleb Williams.

He will be working under new Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who previously was the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. Johnson has said he plans to continue calling offensive plays in Chicago, per ESPN.

Declan Doyle is the son of ex-Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle, whose 21-year tenure at Iowa came to an end in 2020 amid allegations from more than 50 former players of a culture of racism and bullying in the Iowa football program.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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