When the Chicago Bears hired Bill Lazor as offensive coordinator, the NFL world basically shrugged. While it got some initial publicity, there wasn’t a lot of emotional reaction one way or the other. Most of this was due to the fact that head coach Matt Nagy will continue calling plays and that Lazor was out of football in 2019. So there wasn’t much recent stuff to go on. The coach is probably nothing more than a placeholder for the job title.
However, some believe that would be selling the coach way too short. Several who have worked with him insist Lazor is much better than he gets credit for. Maybe not a great play caller from a coordinator standpoint, but somebody who can craft an effective system and put together some really strong game plans. One person who remains a big fan is Pro Bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry. He played under Lazor for two years in 2014 and 2015 with the Miami Dolphins. The experience proved to be one of his favorites while there as he told Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
“He’s great at getting playmakers the ball,” said Landry, who was traded to the Browns two years ago. “His whole philosophy is misdirection and getting guys the ball in space that know what to do with it. I had two helluva years in that system.”
Landry still remembers the level of detail in Lazor’s planning.
“That’s something that goes a long way,” he said. “Being an offensive coordinator, you want to make sure every guy is in the right place at the right time for the quarterback. It was a quarterback-friendly system.”
One of the persistent issues for the Bears in 2019 was how often players were making mistakes. Quarterbacks threw it to the wrong spot. Receivers ran the wrong routes. Linemen failed to recognize blitzes and stunts. There were too many penalties. It was a collective nightmare. These issues should be somewhat curtailed under Lazor’s watch. His skills for preparation along with an eye for details will be a big help towards better execution.
Especially for the quarterback.
Lazor had a knack for finding ways to get his pass targets in open space for big completions. It’s little wonder Nagy was interested in him dating back to 2018. With Lazor in the fold, he’ll have another quality mind on the staff who knows how to scheme more big plays for the passing game. Something that was sorely missing for the Bears this past season. Nobody is calling him a savior, but is he an upgrade over Mark Helfrich? It certainly feels that way.
