Declan Doyle was only an NFL positional coach for two seasons
Declan Doyle, the Chicago Bears’ new offensive coordinator, is set to be one of the youngest people in NFL history to hold that title. After graduating from the University of Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in 2018, the 28-year-old Doyle has spent only two seasons as a full-time on-field coach in the NFL, both with the Denver Broncos.
If your nepotism alarms haven’t been set off yet, let me help you: There was once another Doyle at Iowa.
In 2020, the Hawkeyes parted ways with former strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle, Declan’s father, due to what ESPN described as black players feeling “disparaged, demeaned, and bullied” by Doyle. Following his more than million-dollar separation from the university, Doyle was named as a defendant in a racial discrimination lawsuit that wound up paying former Iowa football players $4.175 million.
Approve with a 2-1 vote, the lone person who voted against the settlement was Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand, who stated that he would only vote yes if Iowa athletic director Gary Barta, who retired two months later, was fired. At the time, Sand cited the fact that three other racial discrimination cases under Barta’s watch had come at a combined cost of over $7 million as the primary reason for him voting against the settlement.
Doyle’s name and that of other football coaches were dropped from the lawsuit before the settlement, leaving the University of Iowa and the school’s Board of Regents as the lone defendants. Below is a quote from Iowa’s 2020 racial disparity investigation, in which they interviewed active and former players about the subject.
“Being an Iowa football player was a daily struggle for black players. We were punished for no apparent reason, singled out by coaches, and threatened and ridiculed every day. It is hard to explain how difficult it was. Think about being under pressure every day for 4 years solely because of your race. That is how it was for me and my black teammates.”
Some Iowa players came to the defense of Doyle. Two of Doyle’s former players who gave testimonials on Doyle’s character for a requested summary judgment, before Doyle was dropped from the lawsuit, were former Green Bay Packers Mike Daniels and Micah Myde.
Still, the over dozen current and former student-athletes coming forward about Doyle’s alleged behavior meant that his name was forever tainted. A year later, Doyle resurfaced in Jacksonville under then-Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, who hired Doyle to be his director of sport performance. One day after the announcement, due to the backlash, Doyle resigned from his position.
Plenty of quality offensive play-callers have gotten a bump from their last name. Kyle Shanahan is the son of Mike Shanahan. Sean McVay is the grandson of John McVay. I guess the hiring of Doyle just goes to show you that a memorable last name in coaching will get you far quickly, even if it’s disgraced.