Bill Lazor Head Coach Buzz Should Be Heating Up

By now most of the popular names have been talked about in the 2018 head coaching search, but it’s time to add Bill Lazor to that list.

The Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator has quietly done a great job with his unit. This after the team scored nine points in their first two games. He was promoted prior to week three and tasked with lifting it out of the muck. This he has done with surprising quickness. Since taking over the Bengals have steadied themselves and begun to play a lot better. None more so than quarterback Andy Dalton. He threw no touchdowns and four interceptions in his first two games.

Since Lazor has taken over, he’s thrown 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. That’s a remarkable turnaround, especially given how Lazor had so little time to acclimate to his new job. This now will count as the second team he’s had success as an offensive coordinator with. The fact he does his best work with the quarterbacks is only going to strengthen his case for becoming a head coach next year.

Lazor has a history of elevating somewhat average QBs

Dalton isn’t his first successful experiment either. Lazor actually did some quality work with Ryan Tannehill in Miami. In fact he got the best season of Tannehill’s career from him in 2014 with 4,045 yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was also quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles when Nick Foles had his insane season where he threw 27 touchdowns with just two interceptions. So it’s clear this isn’t an isolated incident.

Lazor knows what he’s doing with quarterbacks. He’s gotten a chance to learn under some impressive coaches too including Joe Gibbs and Mike Holmgren. At age 45 it seems like he’s ready to get his shot at the big job. The question will be whether a team is willing to give it to him. Given the ravenous appetite of NFL teams for quarterback experts, it stands to reason his name will be automatically high on some lists.