The Chicago Bears coaching staff got a significant makeover this past month. Almost all of it on the offensive side of the ball. That's what happens when a team finishes 27th in the league in both scoring and total yards. One of the notable additions made by head coach Matt Nagy was making Bill Lazor, formerly of the Cincinnati Bengals the new offensive coordinator. A somewhat surprising choice given the man had been out of football in 2019.
Lazor comes in with a mixed reputation. Across his NFL career he has a track record of considerable success when it comes to coaching up the quarterback position. Ryan Tannehill, Nick Foles, and Andy Dalton all had standout seasons under his watch. However, his offenses also never reached above average in his four years at the helm between Miami and Cincinnati. One former pupil though thinks the Bears scored big.
Longtime QB Matt Moore, current backup in Kansas City, loves him according to Adam Hoge of WGN.
“Man, I like Bill,” said Moore, who was in Miami when Lazor was the Dolphins’ offensive coordinator for two seasons. “Bill is a high energy guy. He’s going to hold you to the highest standard. He’s creative. He’s going to try to create speed and space just like anybody. When he was here, he had just come from Philly with Chip Kelly. When you talk about all that space with the bubbles and all that stuff, kind of how the game has evolved, and Bill was right on top of it. So we were doing all that stuff. They got a good coach in Bill Lazor, I know that.”
Bill Lazor might be more than meets the eye
One of the things that Moore said Lazor would have a notable impact on the running game. That seems rather discouraging since his rushing attacks finished 12th, 23rd, 31st, and 21st in his four years as a coordinator. However, context is always key. In 2014, Lazor inherited a running game that had finished 26th the year prior. He improved it to 12th. The next season did see a drop-off, but this was largely because the Dolphins were dead last in rushing attempts. This due to the defense regressing significantly.
In 2017, Lazor actually didn't start the season as the offensive coordinator. He was promoted to the job after the first two games when Ken Zampese was fired. So it's hard to blame him for the 31st ranked running game since he was given no time to prepare or install his own schemes. It is worth noting he did help it to significant improvements in 2018, finishing 21st. So the guy isn't just a quarterback specialist. He's had positive impacts on the ground game too.
Moore has been around a lot of different coaches in his career. So for him to single out Lazor like that is significant.
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