Ryan Tannehill is happy to be part of a Dolphins offense no longer connected to former coordinator Bill Lazor. Reading between the lines is unnecessary.
Just read the actual lines.
"I'm just excited about being part of the game plan," Tannehill said Wednesday (via ESPN.com), two days after the Dolphins announced they had dismissed Lazor following a lopsided loss to the Jets. "Working with the coaches Monday and (Tuesday), just being a part of the game-plan process and having my thoughts heard and kind of putting our heads together to create some of the things we want to do, it's been fun so far."
Under Lazor, Tannehill was not allowed to audible at the line of scrimmage unless it was to check into a play that Lazor had cleared beforehand. It's a stifling way to run offense -- especially in 2015 -- and it's understandable if Tannehill felt constrained by the arrangement.
That will change under new offensive coordinator Zac Taylor, who has been Tannehill's quarterbacks coach both with the Dolphins and at Texas A&M.
"Well, it's an adjustment," Tannehill said of the late-season coordinator switch. "So obviously there is some change. But I'm excited about the changes we're making and the possibility about what we can do."
Tannehill is the focal point of the entire organization -- $96 million contract extensions will do that. Lazor is out because Tannehill plateaued, perhaps even regressed, during a season in which he was supposed to become a star. If Tannehill surges in the final month, it's hard to see the team not keeping Taylor around, regardless of what changes around him.
