Buffalo Bills promote Ken Dorsey to OC to replace Brian Daboll

BUFFALO, NY — Josh Allen got his wish.

The Buffalo Bills have promoted quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Ken Dorsey to offensive coordinator, filling the role now-New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll vacated last week.

Daboll was interested in bringing Dorsey with him to the Giants as his offensive coordinator, but Dorsey will instead stay with Allen.

Dorsey has been working with Allen for the last three seasons. Before his time in Buffalo, Dorsey was the quarterbacks coach for the Carolina Panthers from 2013 to ’17. As a quarterback himself, Dorsey led the Miami Hurricanes to a national title in 2001 and played in the NFL from 2003 to ’08.

Allen had advocated for Dorsey becoming the Bills next offensive coordinator.

“When he got here three years ago, my career definitely changed in terms of how I viewed the game of football,” Allen said. “Just having a guy in the quarterback room that played the game, was the winningest college quarterback of all time — 38-2, he’ll never let me forget that, he says it all the time — but just the way he approaches the game, he’s competitive, he’s smart, he works his ass off.”

The team also interviewed Baltimore Ravens wide receivers coach Tee Martin and Las Vegas Raiders receivers coach Edgar Bennett for the position.

Daboll teamed up with former Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen on the Giants. He came into the Bills organization in 2018, the same year Allen was drafted seventh overall out of Wyoming. In Daboll’s first season with the Bills, the offense ranked 30th in points and yards per game, but in the last two seasons, Buffalo has ranked in the top five in yards and points per game.

After completing 56.3% of passes and throwing 30 touchdowns to 21 interceptions in his first two seasons, Allen has completed 66.1% of passes and thrown 73 touchdowns to 25 interceptions in his past two years. He was the MVP runner-up in 2020. Allen’s development of him since he entered the NFL has been a surprise to many and a model that other teams would like to replicate.

Allen has close relationships with both Daboll and Dorsey. Bills head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane had promised to loop in their quarterback to the offensive coordinator selection process.

“We’d be crazy not to loop him in,” Beane said. “I definitely wouldn’t want to bring someone in the quarterback room, player, coach, whatever, that might not allow Josh to be at his best. … Whatever it is, if Brian leaves we’d be silly not to get Josh’s opinion and, listen, we know what he thinks of Ken Dorsey, it’s very high. That matters to us. But we definitely have to do our due diligence.”

The team still has open spots on the staff, with offensive line coach Bobby Johnson leaving for the Giants and no current quarterbacks coach to replace Dorsey.