Lamar Jackson has pulled off something weird over his career. He’s won NFL MVP twice, and both times it happened in the first season with a new offensive coordinator. Now Declan Doyle is taking over Baltimore’s offense in 2026, and ESPN’s NFL Live crew thinks the pattern might hold.
Host Laura Rutledge laid it out simply. This is the third time the Ravens have hired a new OC since drafting Jackson in 2018. The first two times — Greg Roman in 2019 and Todd Monken in 2023 — Jackson walked away with MVP honors. That’s not a coincidence, at least not according to the analysts.
What Doyle brings that Jackson already likes
Ben Solak said on the show that Doyle’s system probably won’t look radically different from what Jackson has run before. The bigger change is about how the offense sounds and operates before the snap. Doyle comes from the Sean Payton and Ben Johnson coaching trees, which means he prioritizes detailed play calls and crisp execution. He wants to attack the middle of the field and work from under center. Two things Jackson already does at an elite level.
“I think it’s less about how it looks different and more about how it actually sounds different,” Solak said. He added that if Baltimore gets comfortable fast, “that third MVP might be in the cards.”
Mina Kimes agreed and went a step further. She argued Jackson might be the quarterback best suited for exactly this kind of offense. His success throwing over the middle and operating under center makes him a natural fit for what Doyle plans to install. “Lamar Jackson is the one I worry about the least,” Kimes said.
Doyle’s track record and what it means now
Doyle isn’t some unknown name. He started as a student assistant at Iowa, spent four years with the Saints as an offensive assistant, coached tight ends for the Broncos, and then became offensive coordinator for the Bears. In 2025 he helped engineer one of the NFL’s biggest offensive turnarounds. That résumé matters.
Veteran tight end Mark Andrews also chimed in. He said this offense is totally different from anything the Ravens have run before, but he’s confident Jackson will adapt and make it his own. “I think he’s going to make it his own, adapt to it and be the best that there is. That’s the type of person that he is and that’s the type of guys and coaches that we have. I think that’s a scary sight when you see Lamar Jackson adding new things to his repertoire.”
So the question isn’t really whether Jackson can win MVP again. It’s whether history is just a coincidence or the start of a real trend. Doyle and the Ravens will start answering that when the season kicks off.
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