HOUSTON – In the Texans’ search for a new offensive coordinator to replace Bobby Slowik, they’ve explored several coaches regarded as up and coming in that space.
Few of the candidates, though, have an extensive background calling plays at the NFL level or have offensive coordinator experience.
An exception from that group is Texans senior offensive assistant Bill Lazor, who has offensive coordinator and play-calling experience with three different NFL teams.
Lazor, 52, is scheduled to interview with the defending AFC South champions on Thursday, according to league sources.
Lazor, a former Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator, is part of a growing interview list that includes completed interviews with Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson, a strong internal candidate for the job, Syracuse offensive coordinator and running backs coach Jeff Nixon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis along with another scheduled Thursday interview with Los Angeles Rams tight ends coach and passing game coordinator Nick Caley, per league sources.
Lazor has been with the Texans for the past two seasons, assisting Slowik in building game plans. In his first season with the Texans, quarterback C.J. Stroud was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and passing for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions. The Texans’ offense regressed this season as Stroud dealt with pass protection issues, being sacked 52 times, and passing for 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Stroud also had to adjust to season-ending injuries to wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell and playing without Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins for five games due to a pulled hamstring.
With the Bears, Lazor coached the NFL’s 24th and 26th ranked offenses in 2021 and 2020 and ranked 27th and 22nd in scoring offense in those years. The Bears ranked 14th in rushing offense in 2021. He was coaching quarterbacks Justin Fields, a mobile former Ohio State standout, Mitchell Trubisky and Andy Dalton during that span. Among the more successful players he coached: Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet and David Montgomery.
In 2020 when Matt Nagy relinquished the play-calling duties to Lazor the offense improved to 30 points per game in the final six games after scoring 19 points per game in the games Nagy called the plays. The Bears made the playoffs as Montgomery rushed for 1,070 yards and eight touchdowns and Allen Robinson caught 102 passes for 1,250 yards and six scores.
In 2018 with the Bengals, the offense ranked 26th in yards and 17th in scoring. In 2017 in Cincinnati, the Bengals finished last in yards and 25th in scoring. The quarterback, again, was Dalton and current Texans Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon rushed for 1,168 yards and eight touchdowns.
In 2015 with the Dolphins, Lazor oversaw an offense that ranked 26th in yards and 27th in scoring. The previous year, Miami ranked 14th in yards and 11th in scoring with Ryan Tannehill as the quarterback.
He’s been coaching in the NFL for 17 years and has been a quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders, Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles, coaching Nick Foles on a Chip Kelly staff. Foles led the NFL in passing yards per attempt and touchdown percentage and finished with 27 touchdown passes and an NFL-best 119.2 quarterback rating.
He has also been an offensive coordinator at the University of Virginia as they finished third in the ACC in total offense after ranking last the previous year.
He was a three-year starting quarterback at Cornell and left with 26 passing and total offense school records.
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790
