Bill Lazor used to having Dan Marino in meetings

There are a few things we've learned about offensive coordinator Bill Lazor since he's been a member of the Miami Dolphins organization. For starters, he can be very demanding and expect perfection from his players. Another thing we've learned is that he wants things done his way on offense, and seems to get somewhat offended whenever input from an outside source is received, aka Joe Philbin.

But there are evidently some exceptions to this rule. Lazor may be a quarterback whisperer like he was in Philadelphia, but he's had no qualms with allowing other forms of coaching such as former Dolphins (and Jets) quarterback Chad Pennington coming in to help with the QBs. So when a living legend in Miami asked if he could come in and join the QB meetings, Lazor harbored no issue.

“Yeah, I’m sure there was a time he said, ‘Hey what time are you meeting? Can I come in?’ And that was about all it took.” explained Lazor. "When Dan came, he asked, ‘Can I be involved with certain things here and there.’ The number one thing, just like when Chad Pennington has come to visit or some other people have come to visit, when you have a chance to get our quarterbacks around those guys I think it’s really important, guys who are successful, who have a track record."

"If track record is the deciding factor, then it's hard to make an argument that there's a better choice than Marino. 61,361 career yards, 420 touchdown passes, a career rating of 86.4 (which back then was really good), Marino's track record speaks for itself. Now he's involved with the quarterbacks, attending the practices, and passing along nuggets of knowledge whenever he can.

"What you have to say about Dan is that he’s been a great professional about how he has kind of joined the organization. I think he is at practice most days. I think you see him out there." said Lazor. "If he’s having lunch with them, if he’s sitting in the meetings, I think a guy who was not only an excellent player but has spent a lot of time in the business watching a lot of quarterbacks, has a lot of information he can pass along."

It's been a topic of interest exactly how much of an influence Marino has had on Tannehill's development, but one thing that definitely cannot be denied is that the potential for him to teach is there. If he can pass along his knowledge of the game to Tannehill, then the sky is the limit for the Dolphins young quarterback.

This story was written by Luis Sung. Follow him on Twitter: @FLSportDebater

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