Miami Dolphins’ Bill Lazor’ Player Relationship “Rocky”

Just what the Miami Dolphins needed midway through the season, another potential distraction. While this will never hit the epic fail of Jonathan Martin last season and it won’t likely have the same media hammering that Joe Philbins’ Ryan Tannehill refusal prior to the Oakland game. That all being said anything that isn’t positive that begins to filter out of the Dolphins locker room isn’t great so news that OC Bill Lazor has a “rocky” relationship with some of his players, isn’t what we need on the day of the Buffalo Bills.

The report comes from NFL.com reporter Jeff Darlington who says that via texts with several players and speaking with other players, some of his actions are wearing thin.

"During involved conversations with four players (and text exchanges with multiple others), all parties made it clear that Lazor’s relationship with the players is currently rocky. His abrasive tenor with several starters has worn thin on some, and an inconsistent identity on offense is internally magnifying the issue."

If this is true and Darlington is a pretty connected and reliable journalist, it would fall on Joe Philbin to quell any issues now before they become something more. The issue here is that the offense is wildly inconsistent at times when it comes to the “red-zone”. The loss last week to Detroit was a tough bitter pill for the team to swallow but was it really Bill Lazor who’s to blame.

There is no question that play calling has been an issue from time to time this year but there is also no question that the offense is a much better unit than it was the previous two seasons under Mike Sherman and that Ryan Tannehill is starting to look more like an answer than a bridge. Lazor tends to have a more Chip Kelly style to him where pace and points are important and at times the offense seems to go into that former Shermanesque mode which has many wondering how much of the offense is being dictated by Joe Philbin.

It wasn’t too many weeks ago that Philbin admitted to changing offensive play calling late in the game so one has to wonder how much more he is changing.

We do know that for the last few weeks Mike Wallace has not been thrilled with the output and performance of the teams offense…even in victory. Wallace has become a far better receiver or at least a more well rounded one this season but he lacks the deep ball accolades that he was used to receiving prior to coming to Miami.

When all is said and done, I think I would still rather have Bill Lazor running this team than Philbin.