Bill Lazor hired as new Bears offensive coordinator

The Bears have hired Bill Lazor to be their new offensive coordinator, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Monday.

The 47-year-old Lazor most recently served as the offensive coordinator for the Bengals for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. He also held the offensive coordinator position for the Dolphins in 2014 and 2015. In his two seasons working for Cincinnati, the Bengals had the 22nd- and 19th-ranked offensive DVOAs, according to Football Outsiders.

Lazor has extensive work with quarterbacks, having been the quarterbacks coach for numerous teams since his coaching career began in 1994. Under his tutelage, both Nick Foles and Andy Dalton made Pro Bowl appearances. He was first speculated as a potential target for the Bears’ offensive coordinator position by the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs.

The Bears fired former offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich on Dec. 31—two days after their season came to an end with an 8-8 record. The team’s struggles on offense resulted in Helfrich, as well as multiple other offensive coaches, to be terminated after the season ended.