Mark-Konezny-USA-TODAY-Sports
Less than 24 hours after losing to the Denver Broncos, with the offense finding it difficult to recover from errors, the Buffalo Bills made a game-changing decision.
On Tuesday, the Bills revealed that offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey had been let go. Sean McDermott’s team will have an interim offensive coordinator in Joe Brady, the quarterbacks coach.
Following the announcement on Tuesday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters, “It just felt like it was time for a change.” “You know, we need to be a confident offensive team for football and find consistent production, and that is about what it came down to.”
In 2022, Dorsey was promoted from his position as the Bills’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach after Brian Daboll left to become the head coach of the New York Giants. Under Dorsey, the Bills scored points and gained yards in 28 games. Buffalo finished second in the NFL in terms of yards and points in 2022. The Bills are eighth in scores and sixth in yards through ten games in 2023.
Sitting at 5-5, the Bills’ offense has been inconsistent, unable to move the ball for stretches, lacking a reliable ground attack and struggling mightily with turnovers. Too often this season, the Bills’ offense looked like an amalgam of plays rather than a cogent plan.
Buffalo’s struggles have mostly come due to costly turnovers. The Bills turned the ball over four times (two INTs, two fumbles lost) on Monday night, with three pinned on quarterback Josh Allen. It marked the second game this season for Buffalo with four-plus giveaways. The Bills have 18 turnovers on the season, tied for the second-most in the NFL.
In the end, Dorsey—who was granted an interview to become head coach in Carolina during the previous cycle—became the victim of his own difficulties. Will the adjustment be sufficient, though, for a dismal Buffalo club facing a demanding final schedule?
For the final seven games of the season, Brady will call plays for the Bills. The 34-year-old’s career took off in 2019 when he oversaw LSU’s passing game strategy during Joe Burrow’s team’s drive to the College Football Playoff National Championship. He was brought on by the Carolina Panthers in 2020 to work under Matt Rhule as offensive coordinator. The Panthers’ offense hardly got off the ground in their two seasons in Carolina, finishing 21st and 24th in yards and points in 2020 and 30th and 29th in 2021
Regarding what he wants to see from the offense under Brady, McDermott stated, “come out with an energy about the offense and what we’re doing to moving the football and score points.” “That’s really the offense’s job at the end of the day.”
Western New York was in a frenzy after Monday night’s setback, which saw Buffalo fall to 10th in the AFC. A few hours later, McDermott moved to remove Dorsey in an attempt to invigorate the floundering Bills club.