Following six weeks of the Josh Allen-led offense becoming stagnant and the 3-time defending AFC East champions rapidly losing ground on the postseason, the Buffalo Bills dismissed offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey on Tuesday.
The decision was made one day after Buffalo’s 24-22 loss to the Denver Broncos, in which Allen was responsible for three of Buffalo’s 4 turnovers, and the offense was held to under 26 points for the sixth straight game—the longest run since the quarterback’s rookie campaign in 2018—as well.
Ken Dorsey has served as the quarterbacks coach for the Bills for three seasons before joining the team as offensive coordinator in 2022. He had previously worked with the Carolina Panthers between 2011 and 2017, first as a scout and then as the quarterbacks coach.
Both of Buffalo’s top coordinators from the 2022 campaign have since left the team. After the 2018 season, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier received a leave of absence and started working as an NFL Media commentator.
Interim coordinator Joe Brady, a quarterbacks coach in his second year, assumes the role. After serving as Carolina’s offensive coordinator for the past two seasons, he signed with the Bills.
In his 2022 debut, Ken Dorsey, 42, led the No. 2-ranked offense just one and a half seasons into his position as Bills offensive coordinator. Although Buffalo’s offense has remained in the top 10 in the NFL this year, Josh Allen, the team’s quarterback, has led the NFL in turnovers with 14 through 10 games. Following Monday’s defeat, McDermott particularly harpooned on the issue of ball security.
For the final seven games of the season, Brady will call plays for the Bills. The 34-year-old saw a meteoric climb to fame in 2019 as LSU’s passing game coordinator during their journey to the College Football Playoff national championship under Joe Burrow. He was brought on by the Carolina Panthers in 2020 to work under Matt Rhule as offensive coordinator. The Panthers offense barely got off the ground in their two seasons in Carolina; in 2020, they ranked 21st and 24th in yards and points, respectively, and in 2021, they ranked 30th and 29th.
After Brian Daboll was appointed to coach the New York Giants, Allen personally selected Ken Dorsey to take over, but he was unable to finish his second season in the position. After Daboll was hired, the Bills traded up five spots to take the young and inconsistent but powerful Allen with the seventh choice in the 2018 draft. Allen played four seasons in Buffalo.
After starting the season as Super Bowl favorites, head coach Sean McDermott’s club is currently atop the AFC standings after ten weeks.
After falling short in overtime against the Zach Wilson-led New York Jets to begin the season, the team went on to win three games in a row. Since then, they have dropped four of their previous six games, including a thrilling victory against the New York Giants and backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, a defeat on the road against the New England Patriots, and a 24-22 loss to the Broncos on Monday night that saw them turn the ball over four times.
It Is Not A Snap Decision To Fire Ken Dorsey
The termination of Ken Dorsey was a long burn from the start of the season and a continuation of the disjointed end to the Bills’ 2022 season, albeit being somewhat contentious considering how the team lost to the Broncos on Monday night. Problems have continued throughout their remaining eight games, except their second half over the Raiders in Week 2 as well as their whole effort against the Dolphins.
The Bills have struggled to finish drives despite improvements to their pass-catching corps and offensive line. They have much too frequently depended on their go-to plays, and the play-calling has been predictable. Save for an early drive, the play calling and sequencing have seemed more like the work of a coach trying to hang onto his job than a strategy to set up a defense.
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