Getting to know Bill Lazor

[Shake n Blake]

Lazor is our offensive coordinator (duh) and probably my top internal candidate to replace Mervin Lawis. But who is this guy? It seems many on here aren't familiar with his background and experience, so I figured it'd be a good idea help get everyone familiarized with him.

Age: 45 (same age Marvin was when the Bengals hired him)

Coaching History

Cornell: Assistant offensive coach from 1994-2000
Buffalo (college): Offensive Coordinator and QB coach from 2001-2002
Falcons: Offensive quality control in 2003 (under Dan Reeves)
Redskins: Offensive assistant from 2004-2005, promoted to QB coach from 2006-2007  (all under Joe Gibbs)
Seahawks: QB coach from 2008-2009 (under Mike Holgren and Jim Mora)
Virginia: Offensive Coordinator and QB coach from from 2010-2012
Eagles: QB coach in 2013, when Nick Foles had the 3rd best passer rating in NFL history
Dolphins: Offensive Coordinator from 2014-2015
Bengals: QB coach in 2016, promoted to Offensive Coordinator in 2017
_______________________________________________________________


This article, published when Lazor was hired as Dolphins OC, goes into great detail on Lazor's history and influences:

http://www.miamidolphins.com/news/article-1/Dolphins-Hire-Bill-Lazor-As-New-Offensive-Coordinator/3c9f4f73-3adf-45a1-94c4-07691deebe3b

The best parts of this article, IMO:

Quote:Just nine days after creating a vacancy at their offensive coordinator position, the Miami Dolphins today hired former Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor as Mike Sherman’s successor.

One of three candidates interviewed for the job, Lazor brings with him an impressive background that includes having worked under the likes of Joe Gibbs, Mike Holmgren and Dan Reeves. He clearly left a strong impression on Head Coach Joe Philbin, who is entering his third year at the helm and came from a successful offensive system in Green Bay.

“Bill is an accomplished coach and will be a great addition to our coaching staff,” Philbin said. “Bill has been instrumental in helping players reach their full potential, as players and people, at both the college and professional level. He also has a proven track record of success working with a wide variety of offenses."

Thanks to his success with the Eagles and specifically with Foles, Lazor was highly sought after in recent weeks by other teams besides the Dolphins, but he chose to join Philbin’s staff. The 41-year-old former Cornell quarterback feels like this is the right fit for him at this time and credited Philbin with making it an easy sell.

Something else Lazor shared during his conference call with members of the South Florida and Philadelphia media was how much he learned not only from Kelly, but also from Gibbs, Holmgren and Reeves. That kind of experience is priceless, especially for a young up-and-comer.

“The number one thing that I think was common among all of those coaches was that they had a vision of how offensive football should look,” Lazor said. “They had a vision of what the football team was going to look like and every single day when we went out to practice, they made sure that what they saw on the field was heading towards that vision. And that’s the job of the coaches to keep pushing it in that direction. … As coaches what I’ve learned from them is when we sit down and we put together the offense and make our plans, there has got to be a vision that doesn’t change, that we’re all committed to. And then every single day that we’re with the players and have a chance to impact them, we keep driving in that same direction.”

“I’m a competitor. I compete. This is what I’ve done and this is what we enjoy,” Lazor said. “I always enjoyed football. When I got done playing at the college level it was time to pick the next thing and to me it was the greatest way to continue to compete. I love helping to build a team; I love having the chance to impact young men’s lives, but first and foremost I love the football and going out there on Sundays and having a chance to put it up against someone else’s best and competing to win. That’s what we’re going to do everyday. We’re going to compete in the meeting room, in the classroom, on the practice field and on Sundays.”

Lazor's time as Dolphins OC got off to a good start. In 2014, they finished 11th in scoring and 14th in yards. Ryan Tannehill had the best year of his career (before or since), with 4045 yards and completing 66.4% of his throws. 27 TD's to only 12 INTs and a 92.8 passer rating. Not only was their passing game much improved, they also finished 12th in rush yards and 2nd in the NFL in yards per carry.

This came despite the Dolphins having perhaps the worst pass blocking in the league. Tannehill was sacked an NFL high 58 times before Lazor arrived, and was sacked another 46 times in Lazor's first year.

This impressive start for Lazor came to an end in 2015. Lazor was scapegoated after a 38-20 loss to the Jets. A game the Dolphins trailed by as much as 28-7. Tannehill threw for 351 yards, 3 TDs and only 1 pick in the comeback attempt, but Lazor abandoned the run. Finishing with only 12 yards rushing, the Dolphins pinned the loss on Lazor and fired him for "not establishing the run".

Keep in mind that the Dolphins had already fired Kevin Coyle (their DC) earlier in the season and couldn't fire another one...even though the 38 points allowed were clearly the reason the Dolphins lost.

As it turns out, Lazor's firing could be viewed as another feather in his cap, as the Dolphins got worse in nearly every category after he left.

11 games under Lazor
20.5 points per game
335.9 yards per game
Tannehill averaged 272 yards and 1.82 TD's

5 games after Lazor's firing
17.0 points per game
322.4 yards per game
Tannehill averaged 243 yards and 0.8 TD's

Also the run game (the reason Lazor was supposedly fired) saw negligible improvement, going from 91.7 yards under Lazor to 97.4 yards after his firing.

All in all, Lazor saw a lot of success in his brief stint in Miami, but was fired when Miami ran out of scapegoats (Joe Philbin and Kevin Coyle had already been fired). 2015 was a mess in Miami, but Lazor showed promise. Especially in 2014. If you're still reading this, thanks. I put a lot of work and research into this one.

[SunsetBengal]

I was as equally impressed, when I googled Lazor's resume, when he was promoted to OC. Now, after reading the article with his quote, I'm even more impressed by the guy. Glad the Bengals were wise enough to pick him up.

[*bengalfan74*]

It's early I know but I think we may have hit pay dirt with Lazor !

Just a shame it took 16 games to quit on the Z man ! Had Lazor started this season or better yet last year things might be a bit different now ?

[*Go Cards*]

(10-27-2017, 08:07 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Lazor is our offensive coordinator (duh) and probably my top internal candidate to replace Mervin Lawis. But who is this guy? It seems many on here aren't familiar with his background and experience, so I figured it'd be a good idea help get everyone familiarized with him.

Age: 45 (same age Marvin was when the Bengals hired him)

Coaching History

Cornell: Assistant offensive coach from 1994-2000
Buffalo (college): Offensive Coordinator and QB coach from 2001-2002
Falcons: Offensive quality control in 2003 (under Dan Reeves)
Redskins: Offensive assistant from 2004-2005, promoted to QB coach from 2006-2007  (all under Joe Gibbs)
Seahawks: QB coach from 2008-2009 (under Mike Holgren and Jim Mora)
Virginia: Offensive Coordinator and QB coach from from 2010-2012
Eagles: QB coach in 2013, when Nick Foles had the 3rd best passer rating in NFL history
Dolphins: Offensive Coordinator from 2014-2015
Bengals: QB coach in 2016, promoted to Offensive Coordinator in 2017
_______________________________________________________________


This article, published when Lazor was hired as Dolphins OC, goes into great detail on Lazor's history and influences:

http://www.miamidolphins.com/news/article-1/Dolphins-Hire-Bill-Lazor-As-New-Offensive-Coordinator/3c9f4f73-3adf-45a1-94c4-07691deebe3b

The best parts of this article, IMO:


Lazor's time as Dolphins OC got off to a good start. In 2014, they finished 11th in scoring and 14th in yards. Ryan Tannehill had the best year of his career (before or since), with 4045 yards and completing 66.4% of his throws. 27 TD's to only 12 INTs and a 92.8 passer rating. Not only was their passing game much improved, they also finished 12th in rush yards and 2nd in the NFL in yards per carry.

This came despite the Dolphins having perhaps the worst pass blocking in the league. Tannehill was sacked an NFL high 58 times before Lazor arrived, and was sacked another 46 times in Lazor's first year.

This impressive start for Lazor came to an end in 2015. Lazor was scapegoated after a 38-20 loss to the Jets. A game the Dolphins trailed by as much as 28-7. Tannehill threw for 351 yards, 3 TDs and only 1 pick in the comeback attempt, but Lazor abandoned the run. Finishing with only 12 yards rushing, the Dolphins pinned the loss on Lazor and fired him for "not establishing the run".

Keep in mind that the Dolphins had already fired Kevin Coyle (their DC) earlier in the season and couldn't fire another one...even though the 38 points allowed were clearly the reason the Dolphins lost.

As it turns out, Lazor's firing could be viewed as another feather in his cap, as the Dolphins got worse in nearly every category after he left.

11 games under Lazor
20.5 points per game
335.9 yards per game
Tannehill averaged 272 yards and 1.82 TD's

5 games after Lazor's firing
17.0 points per game
322.4 yards per game
Tannehill averaged 243 yards and 0.8 TD's

Also the run game (the reason Lazor was supposedly fired) saw negligible improvement, going from 91.7 yards under Lazor to 97.4 yards after his firing.

All in all, Lazor saw a lot of success in his brief stint in Miami, but was fired when Miami ran out of scapegoats (Joe Philbin and Kevin Coyle had already been fired). 2015 was a mess in Miami, but Lazor showed promise. Especially in 2014. If you're still reading this, thanks. I put a lot of work and research into this one.

Good stuff, thanks for posting

[JB Bengal]

I knew very little about Lazor prior to your post. Good stuff! Thanks for posting.

[HarleyDog]

Yet, unless he has good knee pads and salty lips? Merv will remain or PA will get the HC job.

[BenZoo2]

Nice post shake ??

[Shake n Blake]

(10-28-2017, 10:21 AM)BenZoo2 Wrote: Nice post shake ??

Thanks??

[BenZoo2]

(10-28-2017, 12:24 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Thanks??

That was a thumbs up that didn’t translate lol. Nice post!!!!

Feel better now? ;-)



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shake n Blake]

(10-28-2017, 02:04 PM)BenZoo2 Wrote: That was a thumbs up that didn’t translate lol. Nice post!!!!

Feel better now? ;-)



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not really. This thread is dead.

I guess it's to be expected. No one wants to read about the OC when we're 2-4.

[BenZoo2]

(10-28-2017, 07:32 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Not really. This thread is dead.

I guess it's to be expected. No one wants to read about the OC when we're 2-4.

Yeah, we need more Marvin, ebenezer and Ced/blodine threads

[*Awful Llama*]

(10-28-2017, 07:32 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Not really. This thread is dead.

I guess it's to be expected. No one wants to read about the OC when we're 2-4.

Meh, beats retreading the same ground about Mike, Marvin, the OL, and the supposed damned absurdity of the orange uniforms, etc.  Sounds like a good football guy.  Does he have a brother we could hire (fully acknowledging of course that having bothers in any capacity within this organization has never really panned out)?

[Brownshoe]

Personally I want Guenther. I like the way the defense plays under him, and defensive players all seem to respect him a lot. If we hired Lazor as the HC I wouldn't be upset though. He seems to have a lot of experience under some good coaches. He would probably be my 2nd choice for the coaches on this team.

[Shake n Blake]

(10-28-2017, 11:20 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: Meh, beats retreading the same ground about Mike, Marvin, the OL, and the supposed damned absurdity of the orange uniforms, etc.  Sounds like a good football guy.  Does he have a brother we could hire (fully acknowledging of course that having bothers in any capacity within this organization has never really panned out)?

Yeah nepotism is the last thing the Bengals need more of. 

(10-28-2017, 11:53 PM)Brownshoe Wrote: Personally I want Guenther. I like the way the defense plays under him, and defensive players all seem to respect him a lot. If we hired Lazor as the HC I wouldn't be upset though. He seems to have a lot of experience under some good coaches. He would probably be my 2nd choice for the coaches on this team.

I'm big on Guenth, but there's 4 reasons I don't want him as HC:

1. He's a defensive guy, and we've had 18 years (!) straight with a defensive head coach, counting our time with LeBeau.
2. He's been around Marvin and this franchise for too long. Since 2005 I believe.
3. If he's our HC, he's not our DC
4. Some might laugh, but he doesn't have the look of a HC to me. 

[The Caped Crusader]

I wish Lazor had an offense season to build an offensive scheme. Going week to week is tough, especially when you have to gameplan for the next opponent. If he had an off season, and plenty of practices, we might see a better outcome.


Regardless, our offense looks much better under him than Zampese.

[JB Bengal]

(10-29-2017, 07:15 AM)The Caped Crusader Wrote: I wish Lazor had an offense season to build an offensive scheme. Going week to week is tough, especially when you have to gameplan for the next opponent. If he had an off season, and plenty of practices, we might see a better outcome.


Regardless, our offense looks much better under him than Zampese.

Agree on both points.  Just glad management didn't wait until the end of the season to do something about it.  Zamp was that bad...

[Daddy-O]

(10-28-2017, 09:40 AM)HarleyDog Wrote: Yet, unless he has good knee pads and salty lips? Merv will remain or PA will get the HC job.

Harley, if they make PA next HC I'm out.  And that's saying something because I've been a fan since the 70's.  

I've been known to check out late in the year during bad seasons to do other things on Sunday's but I always come back the next year.  If PA would ever become HC I'd be done for good.  No way would I watch the dung any longer.  Puke!