Dennis Allen brings tons of experience to the Bears defensive coordinator job, both as a play caller and someone with head-coaching experience to help Ben Johnson’s first time in that role.

Declan Doyle doesn’t bring that same pedigree to the offensive coordinator spot. There is solid potential, however, after his quick rise working under Sean Payton.

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The 28-year-old was Payton’s tight ends coach the past two seasons in Denver, where he guided a versatile position group heavily involved in the passing game, the rushing attack and in protection. Payton first hired Doyle in New Orleans, as an offensive assistant, back in 2019. He was retained by Allen when he took over as Saints head coach in 2022.

Allen obviously vouched for Doyle as offensive coordinator. And the fact that Payton has employed him twice reflects positively on someone considered a bright offensive mind.

While some might be concerned by Doyle’s relative inexperience, he’ll Ben Johnson’s lieutenant on the offensive side. The Bears head coach will call offensive plays and be the scheme’s chief architect, both in its offseason creation and weekly game-planning sessions.

Johnson described what he’s looking for in an offensive coordinator during his introductory press conference, before Doyle entered the picture.

“It’s going to be critical for me to find somebody that can organize and structure and set the table, particularly early in the week,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “I have been around a number of guys that have called plays in the past and I’ve seen the potential pitfalls that could arise as you’re approaching the entire football team and you can’t get to watching as much tape early in the week as you possibly could. The offensive coordinator position is going to have to be somebody that not only I trust but we’ll be extremely detail oriented, organized and structured to set the table and also be willing to work late nights.”

Johnson’s reputation as a tireless worker is well founded, and he’ll need someone of a similar ilk as his coordinator. He makes major adjustments to his offensive strategy depending on the opponent and often designs plays for each game to exploit matchups and find innovative ways to product explosive plays. He’ll also bring insight from Payton’s offenses and effective concepts that worked in Denver and New Orleans.

His offensive philosophy centers on defensive confusion, slowing down an opponent’s processing power to make them a step slow. That will allow the Bears to win easier and exploit matchups. Doyle must prove a trusted asset and someone who can extract information from game tape that Johnson can use effectively.

Doyle will also play a major role in scheme creation. Johnson said he planned to tear the offensive system used to great effect in Detroit “down to the studs” and rebuild it with quarterback Caleb Williams and Bears talent in mind.

That means Doyle will be diving heavily into the Lions system, Bears tape from 2024 and Williams skill set to identify concepts that will work in Chicago.

There’s a lot involved in this assignment as Bears offensive coordinator despite the fact that Doyle won’t be calling plays. The job offers a great opportunity to develop as a coach and learn from one of the NFL’s best play callers, while working with a super-talented quarterback and a strong stable of skill players.