Getty Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at Paycor Stadium on November 05, 2023.
The Buffalo Bills (5-5) hit a breaking point following their 22-24 Week 10 loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.
With their postseason hopes dwindling, the Bills made the drastic move to fire offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, November 14, Bills head coach Sean McDermott explained, “It just felt like this was the right time.”
With Dorsey gone, the Bills elevated quarterbacks coach Joe Brady as interim offensive coordinator. Asking Brady to turn this offense around before facing the New York Jets in five days is a tall order. But based on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow‘s comments, the 34-year-old coach might be able to make magic happen.
Save us Joe Brady plz
Brady was the passing game coordinator at LSU when Burrow led the Tigers to a 15-0 season and a National Championship victory in 2019. So, the Bengals superstar was asked about Brady’s promotion during Tuesday’s press conference.
“Joe’s awesome, Joe’s very creative,” Burrow said. “He always has something for a certain look that you’re seeing on tape to take advantage of that. It’s a big opportunity for him, I’m excited for him. He helped me a lot. He helped me become the player I am today. Nothing but love for Joe.”
Burrow’s strong endorsement definitely turned some heads in Buffalo, giving fans hope that Brady can reignite that spark in quarterback Josh Allen. While Dorsey’s firing might’ve felt abrupt, it was a long time coming. Allen leads the league with 14 turnovers and 11 interceptions. The offense hasn’t scored more than 25 points since Week 4.
Joe Brady Already Has a ‘Close Relationship’ With Bills QB Josh Allen
GettyBills quarterback Josh Allen at Highmark Stadium on October 26, 2023.
McDermott said during his press conference that he’s hopeful Brady will shift the mood in the locker room. “Just some of the new energy around our offense.”
“He comes with some experience,” McDermott said of Brady. “I think overall, just his day-to-day command of his job more than anything — and it’s like anything else, some of this is a projection and also want to see what he can do in this role.
“He has a close relationship with Josh as the quarterback coach, and we’ve talked — we’ve talked this afternoon, and really, actually, earlier this morning — and he’s got some ideas and, and we’ll see where it goes from here.”
Before finding success at LSU, Brady spent the better part of two seasons as the Carolina Panthers offensive assistant before then-head coach Matt Rhule fired him in December 2021. Two months later, the Bills hired Brady as their quarterbacks coach.
As for who will take over Brady’s dormant role, McDermott said they’re still working through that as their main focus right now is defeating the Jets on Sunday.
Allen seems to already be a huge fan of Brady. “I love Joe. He brings a lot of juice,” Allen said of Brady last year, per The Buffalo News.
“He’s been great in meetings so far. He’s got a lot of knowledge of the game. He’s been in a lot of different places with some really good quarterbacks. So, to have somebody in the room that’s been there and done that, it’s awesome.”
Josh Allen Did Not Make the Decision to Fire Ken Dorsey
BREAKING: The #Bills have fired OC Ken Dorsey, per @AdamSchefter. Joe Brady will be the interim. Changes underway in Buffalo.
Following Brian Daboll’s exit last offseason, Dorsey was Allen’s top pick to usurp the role of offensive coordinator. Despite his regression this season, McDermott told reporters that Allen had nothing to do with Dorsey getting canned.
“Josh and I speak daily and this decision was made by me and me alone,” McDermott said.
Overall, the Bills offense wasn’t scoring enough points and their inconsistency issues were losing the team games. With a 5-5 record, Buffalo needs to be near perfect in order to clinch a playoff spot.
“I think it’s important that those guys feel, hey, something’s changed, right?” McDermott said. “And there’s something new that we can be excited about in terms of an opportunity to improve, really. I think that’s a piece of it, but also, like I said, it just got to be the right time right now to make the move and see if we can get some energy about our offense right now.”
“At the end of the day, it’s up to me to inspire change and get to where we want to be as a football team.”