Bills fire offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey after Monday night loss vs. Broncos; Joe Brady takes over

After the Bills’ “inexcusable” 24-22 loss to the Broncos on Monday night, coach Sean McDermott didn’t rule out making significant changes to the team. A day later, he’s acted aggressively, dismissing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, as the team announced.

Dorsey, 42, was just one-and-a-half seasons into his job as Bills OC, guiding the No. 2-ranked offense in his 2022 debut. Buffalo has remained a top-10 scoring offense this year, but turnovers have been a persistent issue, with quarterback Josh Allen leading the NFL with 14 giveaways through 10 games. McDermott specifically harped on the lack of ball security after Monday’s loss.

Quarterbacks coach Joe Brady, 34, will replace Dorsey as the Bills’ interim OC for the remainder of 2023. He joined Buffalo last year and previously served as the Panthers’ OC starting in 2020; like Dorsey he was fired before the end of his second season on the job. Brady’s previous experience includes two years as a Saints offensive assistant under Sean Payton, and the 2019 campaign as LSU’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach.

Dorsey, on the other hand, was considered a likely head coaching candidate as recently as the 2023 offseason, when he interviewed for the Panthers’ vacancy. The former NFL QB spent five years as Carolina’s QBs coach from 2013-2017, then had a direct hand in Allen’s early-career growth as Buffalo’s QBs coach from 2019-2020. He was promoted to passing game coordinator in 2021, then replaced Brian Daboll as the OC in 2022 after Daboll became head coach of the Giants.

Dorsey’s offense was a pivotal piece of the Bills’ 13-3 finish a year ago, but Allen and Co. managed just 10 points in a season-ending loss to the Bengals in the divisional round of the playoffs. Perhaps best known for a viral meltdown in the coaches’ booth, he also struggled to oversee a balanced run game, even with James Cook emerging as a big-play threat for the Bills.

Brady will get his first chance running Dorsey’s old unit when the Bills play host to the Jets on Sunday in Week 11.