Getty Ken Dorsey of the Buffalo Bills watches practice on August 05, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.
After a crushing loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday night that capped off more than a month of offensive struggles, the Buffalo Bills decided to send offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey packing.
To many insiders, it was a surprising move but not an unexpected one.
The Bills had become a target for criticism in recent weeks as they failed to move the ball even against some of the league’s lowest-ranked defenses. Quarterback Josh Allen struggled with turnovers and mistakes and the ground attack that was built through a series of key acquisitions stalled out at times.
Dorsey’s firing revived some of that criticism, as insiders raised concern about the tall task ahead of the Bills if they want to reach the playoffs.
Bills Offense Grew Stale
After a 13-3 season and a trip to the divisional round of the playoffs last season, the Bills came into 2023 hoping to make the leap to Super Bowl contender. Instead the team has struggled through the easier portion of their schedule, falling to 5-5 with the loss to the Broncos on November 13.
Amid the struggles, Dorsey had become a magnet for criticism and what many saw as a step back from previous offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. The Bills announced on November 14 that Dorsey had been relieved of his duties and replaced by interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who had served as quarterbacks coach.
WHAM-13 sports director Mike Catalana touched on a common line of criticism among Bills insiders, saying that the offense had become too predictable under Dorsey.
“Dorsey fired. It’s not ALL of his fault, but when you have a QB like Josh Allen that has been at an elite level and he looks like he has looked, something has to change,” Catalana wrote on X, formerly know as Twitter. “Bills offense has been predictable and easy to defend. Allen looks lost. This should have happened a month ago.”
Dorsey fired. It’s not ALL of his fault, but when you have a QB like Josh Allen that has been at an elite level and he looks like he has looked, something has to change.
Bills offense has been predictable and easy to defend. Allen looks lost. This should have happened a month…
Analyst Dan Orlovsky shared a similar sentiment, saying in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show that it bad become too easy for opposing defense to shut down their once-feared offense.
“The Bills offense is wildly predictable and it’s easy to prepare for right now..
It’s a broken offense schematically and there’s a lot of reasons why the results are what they are” ~ @danorlovsky7 #PMSLive
“The Bills offense is wildly predictable and it’s easy to prepare for right now,” Orlovsky said. “It’s a broken offense schematically and there’s a lot of reasons why the results are what they are”
Bills Offense Under New Management
Dorsey’s firing will give a big opportunity to Brady, the 34-year-old who served as LSU’s passing game coordinator in 2019 when Joe Burrow led them to a national championship. As NFL.com noted, Brady spent some time as offensive coordinator in the NFL but did not have much to show for it.
“In 2020, he was hired by the Carolina Panthers as offensive coordinator under Matt Rhule,” the report noted. “In two seasons in Carolina, the Panthers’ offense barely got off the ground, ranking 21st and 24th in yards and points, respectively, in 2020 and 30th and 29th in 2021.”
At 5-5, the Bills will have some work ahead of them if they want to claw back into the playoff picture. They still have games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, and Dallas Cowboys ahead, and now sit a game-and-a-half behind the Miami Dolphins for first place in the AFC East.