The Chicago Bears’ hunt for a new offensive coordinator has reportedly come to an end.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport has the scoop:
Sources: The #Bears are hiring former #Bengals offensive coordinator Bill Lazor as their new OC. An important hire for Matt Nagy after moving on from Mark Helfrich.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2020
Chicago is hiring Bill Lazor as its new offensive coordinator.
Lazor replaces Mark Helfrich, who was fired at the end of December after his second year with the team. Earlier, we discussed Lazor as a candidate after a Brad Biggs report in the Tribune connected him as a person of interest for the job. The rumored interest in Lazor comes one day after Pat Shurmur, who was reportedly a candidate for the job prior to his acceptance of the position in Denver, took the Broncos OC gig.
Lazor has 10 years of NFL coaching experience as a coordinator or quarterbacks coach. And while neither the offenses or quarterbacks he coached were off-the-charts impressive, there might be something valuable in turning to a coach with some professional experience after uneven results under an offensive coordinator who had no experience in the NFL.
Hiring Lazor after being unable to land Shurmur feels like a bit of a letdown, no doubt. Shurmur had a track record of success as a coordinator and a developer of quarterbacks. Lazor doesn’t have much of either on his résumé, but he has experience. Maybe that counts for something? Maybe this is the best the Bears could do under the circumstances.
I suppose we’ll find out when the years play out. But in the end, Lazor isn’t expected to call plays because Head Coach Matt Nagy will retain play-calling duties. Which means Nagy essentially needs to nail it as a play-caller in 2020, because making his offensive coordinator a fall guy isn’t going to pass the sniff test in 2021.