Ken

Dorsey

Dallas ranked 29th in rushing yards per game and 30th in yards per carry last season, as Rico Dowdle led the team with 235-1079-2 on the ground. Dowdle came on late in the season but is now set to be an unrestricted free agent this off-season. Whether it’s through the draft or free agency, the Cowboys almost certainly want to upgrade at running back, but there’s a good chance they’ll be making a philosophical shift as well. In their final two years under Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys ranked sixth in early down pass rate and were seventh in overall pass rate in neutral game scripts. There’s a lot for the Cowboys to figure out this off-season, but it sounds like there could be a bigger focus on the run under this new regime.

Dorsey was being considered for the then-vacant offensive coordinator position in Dallas before ultimately being hired as a pass game specialist. Dorsey served as the offensive coordinator for the Bills and Browns the previous three seasons and will now settle for a less prominent role for the Cowboys. He’ll join Brian Schottenheimer’s staff. Dorsey is someone with the recent passing game bonafides that Schottenheimer could use as a sounding board.

The role is undisclosed, but it feels likely he’ll get a passing game coordinator title. Dorsey was a rumored potential offensive coordinator for the Cowboys, but with the coordinator jobs largely set outside of New Orleans, he’ll settle for a job on Dallas’ staff. Dorsey probably has some bounceback potential after being fired in Buffalo and let go in Cleveland following a failed pivot to a spread offense for Deshaun Watson, it isn’t like he was a terrible playcaller for the Bills. Brian Schottenheimer will likely lean heavily on him to help mend the Dallas passing attack.

Dorsey and the Cowboys have not had a formal interview, but Fowler reports that the two sides are figuring out a time when they can meet. Dorsey has served as offensive coordinator for the Bills and Browns over the last two seasons and was fired at the end of the 2024 campaign following an abysmal first season with the Browns. Cleveland’s quarterback situation didn’t do Dorsey any favors, as Deshaun Watson struggled to produce when healthy and saw his season come to an end due to a torn Achilles he suffered in Week 7. Last season, the Browns ranked fourth in early down pass rate and eighth in pass rate over expected. Dorsey’s propensity to want to push the ball downfield could play well for Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Jake Ferguson if he were to make his way to the Lone Star State.

The team also fired offensive line coach Andy Dickerson. Having already decided to stick with 2023 Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski, someone had to take the fall for this nightmare season. Even with a Sunday’s worth of games left, the Browns are all but guaranteed to finish last in the league in points per game (15.2) and EPA per play (-.18). Dorsey was let go by the Bills during a midseason slump last year, meaning he will be looking for his third team in as many seasons this spring. An offensive coordinator gig is not in the cards given his poor track record over the past two years. Dickerson took over the offensive line coach job from legendary linemen coach Bill Callahan after the former left for Tennessee after the 2023 season.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski announced the change on Wednesday morning ahead of Cleveland’s Week 8 game against the Ravens. The Browns, with now-injured Deshaun Watson under center, were one of the least productive offenses in the NFL. They are dead last in offensive success rate and third worst in EPA per play. Only the Raiders and Dolphins have been worse. Dorsey, fired as Bills OC in 2023, is known to lean on the pass game. It could be a positive for Cleveland pass catchers, including David Njoku and Jerry Jeudy.

Stefanski has called offensive plays for the Browns since first being hired by the team in 2020, and he doesn’t plan on backing off now. A two-time NFL Coach of the Year award winner, Stefanski’s offense has finished in the top 15 in points per game in two of his four years at the helm, and they hope a fully healthy Deshaun Watson can elevate them beyond last year’s 10th place finish last season. The Browns hired former Bills defensive coordinator Ken Dorsey as their offensive coordinator this offseason. While Dorsey has experience calling plays in-game, he won’t be making the final call on plays this season.

In some of the most bizarre timing in NFL history, the Browns leaked the news at the literal two-minute warning mark of the AFC Championship Game. That would seem to be a “news dump,” though the reality is these things just can’t be timed. Fired mid-season by the Bills, Dorsey watched his former unit become more stable but less explosive. There has been talk of coach Kevin Stefanski surrendering play-calling duties in Cleveland, but he is certifiably better than Dorsey. That being said, Dorsey was more scapegoat than actual problem in Buffalo this year. It’s a perfectly fine hire for the Browns.

Dorsey, summarily dismissed by the Bills in mid-November after Tyler Bass missed a critical late-game field goal in a loss to the Broncos, also has interest from the Browns. The Bucs, meanwhile, are moving fast to fill the void left by Dave Canales, who was hired this week as the Panthers head coach. Dorsey was a quick riser before Buffalo’s offense stumbled in 2023.

Dorsey was fired by Buffalo after an embarrassing loss to the Broncos in Week 10. The Bills had lost four of their past six games and were unable to top 25 points in any of those contests. Though the Bills had gotten off to a hot start in their first month of action, the mid-season slump mandated a change and Dorsey took the fall. Dorsey’s scheme was often criticized for lacking creativity, but he also deserves some credit for overseeing a season and a half of elite counting stats from Josh Allen and company. A job in Cleveland would give Dorsey a shot at redemption given how desperate the team is to see signs of life from Deshaun Watson.