There are few relationships more important to the Ravens’ success next season than the one between new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Doyle becomes the Ravens’ offensive coordinator after serving as the Bears’ offensive coordinator in 2025. He will call plays for the first time in his career in Baltimore, and will get to build the offense around the two-time NFL MVP.
Doyle noted that he has spoken to Jackson multiple times so far, including during the interview process.
"That trust is going to be earned through time," Doyle said of Jackson on “The Lounge” podcast this week. “It's not like I can call up Lamar and say, 'Hey, I need you to trust me.' We'll earn that over time, and it's really going to be a two-way street. He's got to earn my trust [and] I have to earn his trust, and that goes for every player that we have.”
During his introductory press conference on Thursday, Doyle said he is “fired up” for when he can work with Jackson, including to help him become more consistent with his eyes and footwork within the system.
"Certainly very excited about the caliber of player he is, but also his willingness to listen and his hunger to learn, his hunger to grow. He is a guy with a growth mindset,” Doyle also said. “He's played at a really high level, and he still wants to continue to work and feels he can get better. Me and the rest of the stuff are really excited to chase that with him."
Jackson is coming off a 2025 season that saw him complete 63.6% of his passes for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions over 13 games. Jackson was hampered by a string of injuries, including a hamstring issue which caused him to miss multiple games, and will look to return to MVP form and full health in 2026.
Doyle notably was also asked about OTAs and what his expectations are for players to show up. Jackson has often skipped voluntary OTAs in previous years, but will be under a new coaching regime for the first time since joining the Ravens.
“We would expect [the players] to be here and certainly it is voluntary,” Doyle said. “But also, if you want to say that you're going to win a championship, you want to say that you have championship standards and those are your goals and your expectations, certainly that's going to take work. That's going to take collaboration, that's going to take the beginning of building the relationship with their coaches [and] other players, starting off this next regime on the right foot."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as New Ravens OC Declan Doyle Opened Up About Establishing Trust With Jackson.
