Will firing Ken Dorsey help save the Bills season? | The Exempt List
Yahoo Sports NFL writer Charles McDonald and The Ringer’s Ben Solak react to Buffalo firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and discuss what’s next for the disappointing Bills. Hear the full conversation on “The Exempt List with Charles McDonald” - part of the “Zero Blitz” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
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BEN SOLAK: Chuck, the Bills just fired Ken Dorsey.
CHARLES MCDONALD: Oh, wow.
BEN SOLAK: Yeah, Schefter just tweeted it.
CHARLES MCDONALD: Wow. Come on down to Atlanta.
BEN SOLAK: Yeah, Ken-- problem not solved. I don't know, was Ken in charge--
CHARLES MCDONALD: I don't think that solves anything.
BEN SOLAK: Was Ken in charge of the defensive play calling late in the fourth quarter? Was Ken in charge of four turnovers, almost five? I don't know.
CHARLES MCDONALD: Ken's in charge of 12 guys on the field on the last kickoff-- on the last field goal, I mean.
BEN SOLAK: Man, I don't know.
CHARLES MCDONALD: The Bills' new interim OC will be Joe Brady.
BEN SOLAK: Oh, brother. [LAUGHS] We're in for shenanigans. This Bills season is going to get weird.
CHARLES MCDONALD: Wow, OK. So OK, I guess things are a little bit more panicked in Buffalo than we would like--
BEN SOLAK: That's wild.
CHARLES MCDONALD: --to think.
BEN SOLAK: I mean, Ken and Josh-- the whole point of Ken Dorsey was that he was Josh Allen's best buddy, right? That was when they promoted him. It was like, Ken was the quarterbacks coach for Josh Allen when Brian Daboll was the OC, and they got better. Ken and Josh are tight. It's going to be a good relationship.
So there's no way this happens without one of two things, either a Josh Allen OK or relationships fracturing over the course of last season and this season to the point where guys who previously were pals-- Ken, Sean McDermott, Josh Allen, whomever-- are no longer pals. Something is afoot here in terms of organizational management.
I mean, dude, Sean-- Sean has moved on from his DC and his OC in the last six months. Buddy is trying to save his job. This is tough. They're just deflated. And at that point, that's where people talk about, oh, the Bills clean house, change the coaching staff.
CHARLES MCDONALD: At least you can say you have Josh Allen in his prime. And you have Stefon Diggs for now, although Trevon Diggs, his brother--
BEN SOLAK: Yeah, Trevon's tweeting.
CHARLES MCDONALD: Yeah, he's tweeting. Doesn't really seem to be a big fan of where the Bills are and wants Stefon freed from Buffalo. It's got to be frustrating to keep running your head into a wall over and over and over again if you're a Bills player. But you're still second in the AFC East.
BEN SOLAK: If you gave me no names attached, just a blank slate, and you told me, hey, this team is .500 halfway through the season, and they have one of the best offenses in the league by every single metric we can think of, I'd be like, oh, they probably have a shot to push for the playoffs. That's the Bills.
It's only when you add the character of the Bills, the fact that they've been around and they're underachieving right now, their defense is so banged up, that I'm like, oh, my gosh, the ship is sinking. Though they're not, by any way, shape, or form, totally dead and buried, the vibes could not be further off.