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 offense.

Campbell fired offensive coordinator 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.

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, and Taylor is in his fourth year.

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“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 offense. It’s disappointing to see it happen like this. He took the fall for us.”

The Dolphins play host to Baltimore on Sunday, and Taylor said he’ll streamline and simplify an offense that ranks 27th in the NFL in points at 18.5 points per game, down from 22.6 last season. The Dolphins are next-to-last in third-down conversion at 28 percent, and they run the ball only 33 percent of the time, last in the league.

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 coordinator 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.”

Campbell said the decision was entirely his, but he consulted with owner Stephen Ross and executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum before making the move.

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

“I always told him he’s going to be a future head coach,” tackle Branden Albert said.

“He’s very detailed when he explains stuff. He’s real professional. I know he’s going to do a good job for us.”


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