Declan Doyle's position as the new Bears offensive coordinator was nearly 10 years in the making — dating back to 2016 when he assumed his first coaching role as an offensive student assistant at the University of Iowa.

While pursuing a degree in business management, Doyle joined Iowa's football program where he learned how to draw up a playbook, how to install teaching material into the players and how to generally set a place up for success. Growing up around football, Doyle knew he wanted to coach the sport and help players find success. His hunger to achieve that kickstarted his path to the NFL.

"The reason I coach is people and the relationships and the ability to impact young people," Doyle told reporters Thursday in his introductory press conference. "This is my passion. ... I got to Iowa and I basically said, 'it's this or nothing. I don't have a plan B. I'm gonna put everything I have into this.' I did that and obviously it has led us here."

While at Iowa, Doyle took a leap and reached out to Brandon Nugent — then-Saints assistant offensive line coach and former Hawkeyes offensive assistant (2005-06) — and asked to visit New Orleans during OTAs. Even as a college student, Doyle figured out a way to pay for his plane ticket down south and spent two days with the Sean Payton-led Saints staff — which included now Lions head coach Dan Campbell and now Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

When an offensive assistant role opened up with the Saints in 2019, Doyle threw his name in the hat.

"There was a lot of people interviewing for that offensive assistant/quality control role and I was fortunate enough to get an interview and go down there," Doyle said. "Went well and here we are."

Doyle has gone from Saints offensive assistant (2019-22) to Broncos tight end coach (2023-24) to now Bears offensive coordinator under new head coach Ben Johnson. For the 28-year-old Iowa native, the role as OC is new, but it's one he's been preparing for "from the very beginning."

"I think knowledge is power," Doyle said. "That is what the guys care about ultimately. Last year was the first time I've ever actually been older than all the players in my room. This is going to be my 10^th year. But that's really kinda been a part of my journey to this point.

"I think players care about, 'can you help me?' First and foremost. 'Can you put me in a position to be successful to help the organization and my family?' That's earned. You have to put in the work and earn that trust and that confidence. That's my plan here — to hit the ground running and go to work."

For Doyle, this next part of his coaching journey will focus in on helping Johnson shape the Bears offense. While Johnson will serve as the offensive play caller, Doyle will be instrumental in organizing and detailing the initial gameplan, utilizing their staff to build the offensive scheme and ensure the players are being put in positions to succeed.

"Basically, I have to do that work that [Johnson's] not gonna have time to do, and he's going to have to be able to trust me that I'm gonna give him the correct information he needs as a decision maker," Doyle said. "And really throughout the week, streamlining the teaching progression to the players, making sure that everything is built around them. Myself, Ben and the rest of the staff, we're not gonna take a snap this year. We have to make sure that our players understand their toolbox, so they can go out and play fast and play at a high level."

Doyle believes his experiences and mentors in New Orleans and Denver have prepared him for this moment and can guide him when building a relationship with Johnson.

Learning from both Pete Carmichael and Joe Lombardi — who have both served as offensive coordinators under Payton — has taught Doyle how to work alongside the primary play caller. That experience was a point of emphasis in Doyle's interview with Johnson.

"The biggest thing is, high levels of communication from that position, the ability to utilize all the resources within the staff and give very direct, not only messaging but direction to what we're trying to accomplish," Doyle said. "The biggest thing is you're on the same page with the play-caller.

"Me and Ben are gonna have to spend a ton of time together diving into film. I'm really really excited to be able to go do that. And make sure I see the game the same way he sees it, to be able to orchestrate it and set the table for him and really make sure we're doing it the way he wants to do it."

Doyle's most recent job in Denver will also help him navigate coaching a young quarterback like Caleb Williams. As tight ends coach, Doyle played a role in developing Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who helped Denver reach the postseason after ranking top-10 in the NFL in points per game.

Doyle is excited to start evaluating Williams' rookie season tape and help build the offense around his strengths and capabilities. Watching Williams at USC and through the draft process, Doyle views the QB as "a very impressive player" with "crazy" arm talent.

"I think the biggest thing is just the talent of the kid," Doyle said. "The ability to use his legs — he is a tough kid. You see it on tape. … His second-act, his ability to evade the pocket, his ability to create is a special thing. It's something that I got to see with Bo in Denver last year. That ability to evade and put pressure on a defense and kind of be the eraser of game-planning mistakes, I think that's really exciting about [Caleb]."

As Doyle begins his transition to Chicago, he expressed his gratitude for both the Broncos and Saints organizations as well as Payton, adding: "twice he's pulled me from relative anonymity."

Being a Midwest native, Doyle understands the rich history of the Bears franchise. Even heading into Halas Hall this week felt "a little bit surreal." But much like his attitude as a student assistant at Iowa 10 years ago, Doyle is ready to utilize his passion and knowledge to help the Bears succeed.

"I'm certainly very excited for the opportunity here," Doyle said. "We have a lot of work ahead of us and I can't wait to dive in with Ben and the rest of the offensive staff. My goal is to be as supportive as possible to Ben, our players and be a resource in any way that I can be. It's an honor be here and looking forward to getting to work."