Browns Hire Ken Dorsey as Offensive Coordinator

The Cleveland Browns are hiring former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey to replace departed OC Alex Van Pelt, according to a report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Dorsey was fired mid-season by the Bills after as season and a half as offensive coordinator. His time as OC in Buffalo was marked by impressive offensive numbers from Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, but also a league-high mark in turnovers that hampered the Bills’ overall efforts.

Buffalo started the season 6-6 with Dorsey at the coordinator, but finished by winning five straight to claim the No. 2 seed in the AFC under interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Brady has been promoted to the permanent offensive coordinator job to replace Dorsey.

In Cleveland, Van Pelt was let go despite several seasons of quality work with a rotating cast of characters at quarterback. The former Pitt and Steelers quarterback took the job in 2020 with Cleveland, and had just one season of a healthy Baker Mayfield at quarterback. Then came the 2021 season, when Mayfield played through injury, and the acquisition of Deshaun Watson, who was suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season.

This year, Watson suffered a season-ending injury, and the Browns started rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson and journeyman P.J. Walker before eventually settling on 38-year-old Joe Flacco, who led Cleveland to the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Cleveland also spent most of 2023 without star running back Nick Chubb and both of their starting tackles.

With head coach Kevin Stefanski calling the plays anyway, the reason for moving on from Van Pelt was unclear, but the No. 1 job for Dorsey will be getting the most out of the massive investment the Browns made in Watson.

Cleveland traded three first-round picks, a third and a fourth to Houston to acquire Watson and then gave him a $230 million, fully guaranteed contract — the largest in league history.

Since then, Watson has played in 12 games over two season, and has posted an 81.7 passer rating, completed 59.8% of his passes and has a 5.36 adjusted net yards per attempt. He has thrown 14 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions, but has been sacked 37 times, or nearly 10% of his drop-backs.

A former Browns and San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Dorsey spent six years in the NFL, mostly as a backup. His most extensive playing time came with San Francisco in 2004, when he played in eight games and made seven starts.

Dorsey got started in coaching with the Carolina Panthers in 2013. He moved to the Bills to be the quarterbacks coach in 2019 and was promoted to offensive coordinator when Brian Daboll left to become the head coach of the New York Giants in 2022.

The Browns hiring Dorsey leaves seven offensive coordinator vacancies, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and the Steelers. Additionally, Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has interviewed for their head coaching job.

The Browns had also interviewed Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson, who remains a candidate for the Steelers job. Dorsey had not been on the Steelers’ candidate list.

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