Dolphins snatch Bill Lazor away from the Eagles

UPDATE [3:50 p.m.]: Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin officially announced Wednesday afternoon that Bill Lazor has been named the team's new offensive coordinator.

From earlier: The Dophins hired Eagles quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor to be their offensive coordinator, according to an NFL source.

Chris Mortensen of ESPN was first with the report.

The Eagles weren't able to immediately confirm the report.

There was another report by ESPN on Tuesday speculating that the Lions were interested in Lazor to be new coach Jim Caldwell's offensive coordinator, but the Dolphins, who interviewed the 40-year old last week, beat them to the punch, per the source.

Lazor was hired by the Eagles last February as a member of coach Chip Kelly's first coaching staff. Under Lazor's guidance, Nick Foles made a significant jump in his second season, finishing the year with the NFL's highest passer rating. Foles went 8-3 as a starter, including a first-round playoff loss to the Saints, and tossed 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

Michael Vick opened the season as the starting quarterback, but injured his hamstring in Game 5 and lost his job for good in November. Third-string quarterback Matt Barkley was pressed into duty during two games in October after Foles and Vick left with injuries. The rookie struggled, but Kelly said after the season that he believed the Eagles' 2013 fourth-round draft pick had a bright future.

Lazor was the Eagles assistant most expected to move on after Kelly's first season. He's had success at various stops and had worked with multiple offenses. Before arriving in Philadelphia, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Virginia for two seasons. He was also previously the quarterbacks coach with the Seahawks and the Redskins.

Lazor was born in Scranton and played quarterback in college at Cornell.

The Eagles don't have an obvious successor on staff, although Kelly and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur could just as easily assume the responsibility of overseeing the quarterbacks. More than likely, Kelly has a short list of names for the job. Offensive quality control coach Press Taylor, who coached quarterbacks at Tulsa and played the position at Marshall, could get a look-see. He is only 26, though.

Scott Frost, currently the offensive coordinator at Oregon, could be a candidate to rejoin Kelly. General manager Howie Roseman and Kelly are expected to be in Mobile, Ala. next week for Senior Bowl practices and where there are often many unemployed coaches looking for jobs.

In other news, Eagles vice president of player personnel Tom Gamble isn't expected to meet with the Dolphins and Buccaneers general manager openings even though both teams reached out to interview him last week, per sources. Gamble, who was previously with the 49ers, returned to the Eagles last year partly to be closer to his parents. His father, Harry -- the former Eagles GM -- has been ill.