Sanjay Lal interviews with Chicago Bears
Former New York Jets assistant coach Sanjay Lal appears to be working his way up the coaching ranks. Lal is interviewing with the Chicago Bears for their offensive coordinator opening, per Jane Slater of NFL Network.
#Jacksonville Jags WR coach Sanjay Lal is interviewing with the #Bears today for the offensive coordinator position per source informed
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) January 29, 2022
Chicago fired head coach Matt Nagy after the 2021 season and recently hired former Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus as his replacement. Incumbent offensive coordinator Bill Lazor has yet to be officially let go from the team, but the Bears have been interviewing candidates for the OC role since hiring Eberflus, so a change appears to be imminent.
Lal is currently the wide receivers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the same role that he held with the Jets from 2012-14 under Rex Ryan. New York hired Lal after he spent five years on the Raiders’ coaching staff, the first two of those as an offensive quality control coach and the latter three as a wide receivers coach.
The Jets’ wide receiver room was in a dark state throughout Lal’s three-year tenure with the team. Only one wide receiver reached 1,000 yards over those three years combined: Jeremy Kerley, who led the way with 1,759 yards. Other notable wide receivers coached by Lal with the Jets include second-round pick Stephen Hill (2012-13), Eric Decker (2014), Santonio Holmes (2012-13), David Nelson (2013-14), and Percy Harvin (2014).
Lal has since worked for five different teams, serving as the wide receivers coach for four of them: the Buffalo Bills (2015-16), the Indianapolis Colts (2017), the Dallas Cowboys (2018-19), the Seattle Seahawks (2020), and the Jaguars (2021). Lal was the senior offensive assistant for Seattle in 2020.
The two years with Dallas are certainly the best on Lal’s resume. Lal helped third-round pick Michael Gallup develop into a standout starter and also aided Amari Cooper as he began to fulfill his lofty potential after being traded to the Cowboys in 2018.
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After the Offensive Coordinator market settles down, could Lal be considered as the Jets Passing Game Coordinator. Sanjay Lal is a student of the game, develops receivers ( Michael Gallup ), did well here.