Dolphins turn to quarterback coach in effort to breath life into sputtering offence

DAVIE, FLA.— Miami Dolphins interim coach Dan Campbell is running out of time to make a good impression, so he’s going with a new play caller to jump-start his feeble offence.

Campbell fired offensive co-ordinator Bill Lazor on Monday and gave Zac Taylor primary responsibility for calling plays. Taylor will remain the quarterbacks coach.

The moves came after the Dolphins lost 38-20 to the New York Jets on Sunday. The Dolphins (4-7) were shut out in the first half and haven’t scored more than 20 points since Oct. 25.

“Offensively we’ve been anemic for five weeks now,” said Campbell, who wants to run the ball more. “We have to find a way to become more of a physical offence.”

Campbell hopes to return as coach next season, but the Dolphins are only 3-4 since he replaced Joe Philbin, who was fired Oct. 5. The Dolphins also changed defensive coordinators in October. Lazor was in his second season with the Dolphins, while Taylor is in his fourth year.

“These are unusual circumstances for me,” Taylor said. “This is not ideal. Bill Lazor was awesome to me. He put his heart and soul into this offence. It’s disappointing to see it happen like this. He took the fall for us.”

Taylor, 32, has never called plays. He’s a former Nebraska quarterback and the son-in-law of Mike Sherman, who coincidentally was fired as the Dolphins’ offensive co-ordinator two years ago and replaced by Lazor.

“Zac is a very bright guy,” Campbell said. “I have a lot of faith in Zac. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have done this.”

Players said they were sorry Lazor was fired, but expressed support for Taylor.