Originally Posted by rfaulk34
(Post 17226070)
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Sean McDermott had plenty of reasons for firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey on Tuesday morning, just a few hours after the Buffalo Bills lost to the Denver Broncos in embarrassing and inexplicable fashion on “Monday Night Football.” Josh Allen’s regression dating back to the middle of last season and an offense that hasn’t scored 30 points since Week 4 would be near the top of the list.
But the main reason McDermott fired Dorsey now is because the head coach is desperate. McDermott knew he needed to do something. You could tell that much from the way he didn’t immediately shoot down a postgame question about whether he needed to make a drastic change to get the Bills’ season back on track after falling to 5-5.
Then, in explaining the decision to fire Dorsey on Tuesday, McDermott conceded the urgency.
“We’re going in five days back into that locker room,” McDermott said. “I think it’s important those guys feel, ‘Hey something’s changed, and there’s something new that we can be excited about’ in terms of an opportunity to improve. That’s a piece of it. But 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.”
That’s all valid. Dorsey deserves blame for how the Bills offense went from being one of the NFL’s most dominant to an inconsistent mess. Since Week 4, the Bills were 15th in the NFL in points scored in the first half. They led the NFL with eight first-half turnovers during that span and only three teams had more first-half three-and-outs. Slow starts doomed the Bills often. The offense became predictable, the players uninspired. If McDermott had acted with conviction, he would have made this move weeks ago or even in the offseason after the season’s totality provided evidence of decline.
Doing so at this very moment makes it feel as if Dorsey is the scapegoat. Particularly after the way the Broncos game went. We can start with Dorsey’s side of the ball. The Bills had another miserable start on offense, scoring just eight points in the first half and committing a total of four turnovers during the game. Those turnovers, though, were careless plays by individual players. James Cook fumbled on the first offensive play. Allen’s first interception bounced off Gabe Davis’ hands and into the arms of a Broncos defender. Allen’s second interception was a careless and inaccurate throw. The final fumble came when Allen simply dropped the ball. That’s four drives ruined that Dorsey had little to do with. If the argument is that Dorsey, as the offensive coach, is responsible for his players being focused and not committing those errors, that’s fine.
If that’s the case, then we should point out what ultimately cost the Bills against the Broncos. After Dorsey orchestrated a six-play, 75-yard go-ahead touchdown drive — on which the Bills ran the ball six straight times — all McDermott’s defense had to do was hold Russell Wilson and the Broncos for one more drive. The Bills couldn’t do it, though. With the Broncos at the edge of field goal range, McDermott called an all-out blitz that got home and knocked the Broncos back out of field goal range. On the next play, a third-and-10 from the Buffalo 45, McDermott decided to dial up the same pressure two plays in a row. Wilson recognized it and heaved a pass to Jerry Jeudy. Pass interference put the Broncos back in comfortable range for Wil Lutz.
The questionable decision to blitz was one thing. But then after a few kneeldowns, the Broncos rushed their kicking unit onto the field as the seconds ticked. McDermott’s defense looked confused as the Bills’ field goal block unit scrambled out. Lutz missed the 41-yard kick wide right, but the Bills had 12 players on the field. Lutz got another try from 36 yards and made it.
Game over, along with Dorsey’s tenure as the Bills’ offensive coordinator.
Consider this: Would McDermott have fired Dorsey if the Bills simply had 11 men on the field and improved to 6-4? Likely not. The result, for which McDermott was largely responsible, necessitated a change of some kind. McDermott said Tuesday, “I’m the head coach of the football team. I always started with myself first. I think that’s the right way to do things as a leader. And I try to do that. We can all be better, starting with me.”
Those words feel hollow on a day like Tuesday, though. It doesn’t start with the head coach. It never does in the NFL. It ends with the head coach, but only after he has sacrificed every other scapegoat. McDermott claimed Tuesday that he tries to be hands-off with his coordinators and let them put their signature on each phase of the game. But he’s the one who was publicly voicing his desire for Allen to run less. The quarterback looks like a shell of himself, and McDermott has a hand in that. The two speak daily, and McDermott is one who established Buffalo’s culture and runs the building.
What happens next for the Bills after firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey?
McDermott’s heavy-handed approach to wanting more balance on offense left Brian Daboll frustrated by the end of his tenure as offensive coordinator. Other assistants have departed for lateral moves, some for reasons still mysterious. Leslie Frazier left during the offseason on his own, and McDermott took over the play calling.
McDermott seems allergic to taking accountability. When asked about having too many men on the field at the end of the Broncos game, he said it was special teams coordinator Matt Smiley who made the decision to send the field goal block unit onto the field. Yet McDermott is the head coach of the team and the coordinator of the defense that needed to be subbed out. The lack of communication and preparation in that moment falls on him and him alone. But he couldn’t even say it.
This isn’t a new issue. After the Bills’ devastating loss in the final 13 seconds of the AFC Divisional Round against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, McDermott kept pointing to issues with execution on the kickoff and on defense. That’s code for blaming the players. Go back to 2017 when McDermott benched quarterback Tyrod Taylor after McDermott’s defense allowed 47 points in a loss to the New Orleans Saints. He said that decision was about “becoming a better football team,” but he had to reverse that decision a week later when Nathan Peterman threw five interceptions in a 54-24 loss. This is his pattern. Even after Monday’s loss, he repeatedly praised the defense — ostensibly patting himself on the back — and pointed to the injuries more than once.
The defense did play well for a little more than three quarters. Without five opening-night starters (linebacker Matt Milano, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, cornerbacks Tre’Davious White and Christian Benford and safety Micah Hyde), the Bills held the Broncos to 15 points and 11 first downs through three quarters. Then, on Denver’s final two possessions, the Bills allowed nine points and eight first downs.
If that felt familiar, it’s because Buffalo’s defense has failed in other key spots this season. Zach Wilson drove down the field for a late score in the season opener against the New York Jets. Mac Jones, who has since been benched by the New England Patriots, led a game-winning drive against McDermott’s defense. Taylor came within a yard of doing the same. When the Bills are tied or leading by one score in the fourth quarter this season, McDermott’s vaunted defense drops to 28th in EPA/play, according to TruMedia. In the biggest moments, McDermott wilts.
So maybe firing Dorsey will give the team a spark and get the offense going. But it shouldn’t distract from the fact that a lot of the Bills’ biggest problems are McDermott’s doing. By firing Dorsey, McDermott removed another variable. He’s run out of coordinators to blame, and there’s no longer anywhere to hide.
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