Getty Ken Dorsey of the Buffalo Bills watches practice on August 05, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.
Former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey is landing on his feet after being fired in November — and landing a new job with an AFC rival.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported on January 28 that the Cleveland Browns were hiring Dorsey as their offensive coordinator.
“Sources: The #Browns are hiring former #Bills OC Ken Dorsey as their new OC,” Rapoport wrote on X. “He lands quickly in Cleveland after an impressive interview and takes a key role on Kevin Stefanski’s staff.”
The Bills cut ties with Dorsey after the team fell to 5-5 with a loss to the Denver Broncos, moving quarterbacks coach Joe Brady into the role as interim offensive coordinator. After a strong finish that included five straight wins to end the regular season, the Bills have decided to run it back with Brady.
Ken Dorsey’s New Role
Dorsey came under fire this season as the Bills stumbled out to a rough start, with many insiders saying the offense had become too predictable. After Dorsey was fired in November, WHAM-13 sports director Mike Catalana noted that the offensive coordinator seemed to struggle in harnessing the MVP-caliber talent of quarterback Josh Allen.
“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 will now take over a Browns offense in flux. After quarterback Deshaun Watson was lost to injury, veteran Joe Flacco signed in December and the team finished 3-1 with him at the helm. The Browns earned a wild card berth, but fell short in a playoff loss to the Houston Texans.
Bills Make Decision on Joe Brady
The Bills decided to take the interim tag away from Brady, announcing earlier in the day on Sunday that they had hired him as offensive coordinator on a permanent basis.
Staying in Buffalo.
We’ve named Joe Brady our Offensive Coordinator! 👏 #BillsMafia
As ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg noted, Brady had already earned a key endorsement from Allen. The Bills quarterback told reporters at locker cleanout day following the team’s playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that he wanted to see Brady return next season as offensive coordinator.
“I would fully embrace it. I love Joe,” Allen said. “I love what he brings to this team, to our offense, the juice that he has, the passion he has for football. How much preparation he’s put into a tough situation these last seven to eight weeks. Yeah, I would fully embrace that. And obviously there’s stuff that needs to go on before that. I understand there’s probably an interview process and all that, but he’s got my vote.”
Bills head coach Sean McDermott also shared some praise for Brady, saying he worked well with Allen and other members of the offense.
“I thought Joe did a really nice job coming in and building great communication, collaboration, a vibe with Josh,” McDermott said last week. “And then I think you saw the results of that through the course of, I believe it was six games, and so I thought he did a very nice job in that regard.”