The Buffalo Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey on Tuesday with the Josh Allen-led attack stagnating over a six-week stretch and the three-time defending AFC East champions falling further out of the playoff picture.
Quick Read
- Bills Fire Offensive Coordinator: The Buffalo Bills dismissed offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey after a series of underwhelming performances by the offense led by quarterback Josh Allen.
- Reason for Dismissal: The decision followed a six-week period of stagnant offensive play and a recent 24-22 loss to the Denver Broncos, contributing to the Bills falling out of playoff contention.
- Successor Appointed: Joe Brady, the second-year quarterbacks coach, takes over as interim offensive coordinator. He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers.
- Team’s Current Standing: The Bills, with a 5-5 record, have lost four of their last six games and are set to face the New York Jets.
- Dorsey’s Tenure: Dorsey, who had been Josh Allen’s choice to replace former coordinator Brian Daboll, failed to complete his second season with the Bills.
- Daboll’s Legacy: Under Brian Daboll, who left to coach the New York Giants, Allen had achieved significant milestones, setting numerous franchise records.
- McDermott’s Frustration: Head coach Sean McDermott expressed dissatisfaction with the offense’s inability to compensate for a defense weakened by injuries.
- Offensive Struggles: The Bills’ offense, once high-scoring, has recently been outperformed by opponents and struggled particularly in first halves of games.
- Allen’s Turnover Issues: Josh Allen has been plagued by turnovers, leading the league in interceptions and experiencing a career-worst stretch of games with at least one interception.
- Allen’s Support for Dorsey Waning: Initially defending Dorsey, Allen’s support seemed to diminish over time, particularly following a loss to Cincinnati.
- Receivers’ Limited Connection with Allen: Apart from Stefon Diggs and rookie Dalton Kincaid, Allen has had difficulty establishing a strong connection with other receivers.
- Buffalo’s Offensive History: The Bills’ offense has mirrored last season’s struggles towards the end, prompting the change in coordinators.
- Defensive Coordinator Change: Earlier in the year, McDermott took over defensive play-calling duties, indicating a change in approach on both sides of the ball for the Bills.
The Associated Press has the story:
Bills fire Ken Dorsey after sloppy loss to Denver drops team to 5-5
Newslooks- ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP)
The Buffalo Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey on Tuesday with the Josh Allen-led attack stagnating over a six-week stretch and the three-time defending AFC East champions falling further out of the playoff picture.
The move came a day after a 24-22 loss to the Denver Broncos in an outing where Allen committed three of Buffalo’s four turnovers and the offense was held under 26 points for a sixth straight game to match the longest stretch since the quarterback’s rookie season in 2018.
Second-year quarterbacks coach Joe Brady takes over as interim coordinator. He joined the Bills after spending the previous two seasons as Carolina’s offensive coordinator.
Buffalo (5-5) has lost four of six and prepares to host the New York Jets (4-5) on Sunday.
Dorsey was unable to complete his second season on the job after being Allen’s hand-picked successor to take over after Brian Daboll was hired to coach the New York Giants. Daboll spent four seasons in Buffalo, with his hiring coinciding with the Bills trading up five spots to select the raw and erratic but strong-armed Allen with the seventh pick in the 2018 draft.
Under Daboll, Allen set numerous single-season franchise records for passing and scoring.
Coach Sean McDermott ran out of patience with the offense’s struggles and its inability to pick up the slack for an injury-depleted defense that’s down three starters because of long-term injuries and was missing two more in the loss to Denver.
After spending the past month reiterating his confidence in Dorsey, McDermott altered his message following the loss by saying: “I’m confident, but I believe we can be better at the same time.”
The drop-off in Buffalo’s offensive production has been dramatic since the Bills outscored their opponents by a combined 139-55 to open the season 3-1.
In the past six outings, Buffalo has been outscored 129-123. It particularly has struggled in the first half, managing just 42 points.
Turnovers have become an issue, with Allen throwing a league-high 11 interceptions, including at least one in a career-worst stretch of six straight outings. His career record dropped to 33-25 when committing a turnover, and 3-5 this season.
Allen backed Dorsey a month ago when the coordinator first began generating criticism, and he initially blamed himself for the struggles. He said he began reeling in his emotions after Week 2 by adopting a “low-positive” approach, while acknowledging he might have gone too far.
A few weeks later, Allen’s support for Dorsey began to fade. He said the Bills were simply following the game plan following a 24-18 loss to Cincinnati on Nov. 5.
Allen has struggled to develop a rapport with receivers outside of Stefon Diggs and rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid. The lack of production this season mirrors the struggles the Bills’ offense experienced at the close of last season.
This marks Buffalo’s second change at coordinator this year. McDermott took over the defensive play-calling duties after announcing in February that coordinator Leslie Frazier was taking the year off from coaching with at least one year left on his contract.
