Ken Dorsey - Pro Football Rumors

Bills Considered Davis Webb As QBs Coach

June 15th, 2022 at 4:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

After promoting their previous quarterbacks coach (Ken Dorsey) to offensive coordinator, the Bills hired former Panthers OC Joe Brady to be Josh Allen‘s position coach. Brady’s hire did not commence until February, and it came after the team was prepared to give a still-active QB a long look for the gig.

Davis Webb signed with the Giants in February, opting to continue his playing career by following Brian Daboll to the rebuilding NFC team. But the Bills were interested in him for their quarterbacks coach post. Had Webb wanted to enter coaching now, Buffalo would have hired him for the QBs role this year, Tim Graham of The Athletic notes (subscription required).

A 2017 third-round Giants pick, Webb has hung around the league on roster fringes. But this potential path to a higher-level assistant gig, at age 27, signals the Cal product could have a future in coaching soon. Webb confirmed during an appearance on the Breaking Big Blue podcast with ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan he had a chance to interview for the Buffalo QBs coach job but chose to keep playing.

“You’re either staying in Buffalo or going probably with Dabs and them or you’re thinking about coaching,” Webb said (audio link). “When I talked to Brandon [Beane] and Sean [McDermott] about it, we kind of left that conversation probably leaning toward coaching in Buffalo. It would have been the quarterback coaching job and I would have had to interview and go through the whole process, but that’s kind of where we were leaning toward was us probably transitioning into that.

“They offered that I could still play. You could be in Buffalo in one of these two roles. We want you here. … Why start coaching when you have two contract [offers] to keep going? For me to give up on that just didn’t seem right.”

Webb is attached to a one-year, $945K Giants deal, following Daboll and ex-Bills assistant QBs coach Shea Tierney to the Giants. Tierney is now Big Blue’s QBs coach. Although Tyrod Taylor is positioned to be Daniel Jones‘ backup, it should be considered likely Webb will have some input in the fourth-year starter’s development. Webb has appeared in one game, which came last season, but has yet to throw a regular-season pass.

Bills Name Ken Dorsey Offensive Coordinator

February 1st, 2022 at 12:43pm CST by Adam La Rose

After spending a bit of time looking at external candidates for their offensive coordinator vacancy, the Bills have landed on the internal name they were first linked to. Ken Dorsey, the team’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator, has been promoted to OC (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL Network).

It had been expected that Dorsey would soon become an OC; the question was simply whether or not it would be in Buffalo or New York, after Brian Daboll was named the new head coach of the Giants. Rather than hiring one of the two outside coaches they interviewed, allowing Dorsey to follow Daboll to New York, the Bills have kept the 40-year-old in house to keep a degree of stability on offense.

Buffalo certainly had competitors for Dorsey’s services. As WGRZ’s Vic Carucci tweets, there were “at least a half-dozen teams” interested in him. If he had left the Bills, that means it actually may not have been a guarantee the Giants would have been his ultimate destination.

Dorsey has been with the Bills since 2019, beginning with the same QBs coach role he held for five years with the Panthers. For the past two seasons, he has had the added title of passing game coordinator, helping lead the team to a third place finish in points per game in 2021. More generally, he has played a crucial role in developing Josh Allen into an MVP candidate following the accuracy concerns early in his career.

Meanwhile, for the Giants, the list of their preferred (remaining) candidates is down to three, according to Garafolo. He tweets that the finalists are Pep Hamilton, the QBs coach/passing game coordinator for the Texans, Mike Kafka, who holds the same titles with the Chiefs, and Chad O’Shea, the WRs coach/pass game coordinator with the Browns.

Ravens’ Tee Martin, Raiders’ Edgar Bennett To Interview For Bills’ OC Position

January 31st, 2022 at 3:35pm CST by Adam La Rose

With Brian Daboll off to the Giants as their newest head coach, the Bills continue to search for a new offensive coordinator. The second name on the list of candidates is Tee Martin, the Ravens’ wide receivers coach, who is set to meet with Buffalo for the vacancy (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec). Not long after that came out, ESPN’s Dan Graziano tweeted that Edgar Bennett, who holds the same title with the Raiders, will also interview for the role.

The Martin announcement was made by Ravens HC John Harbaugh when he addressed the media on Monday. Martin, 43, has only been an NFL coach for this past season. He has a decorated college resume, though, highlighted by work as the wide receivers coach at Kentucky, USC and Tennessee dating back to 2010. Those stints have also included the roles of passing game coordinator, OC and assistant head coach along the way. The 2021 season, while disappointing overall for the Ravens, offered cause for optimism at the receiver position with Marquise Brown recording his first 1,000-yard season and Rashod Bateman demonstrating, once he was healthy, why he was worthy of a first round pick.

Bennett has been an NFL coach since 2005, the year he started working in Green Bay. That lasted until 2017, and included a three-year stint as the team’s OC. Part of a major overhaul on the offensive staff in 2018, the 52-year-old was let go in January of 2018. For the past four years, he has been the WRs coach with the Raiders; the 2021 campaign saw Las Vegas rank sixth in the league in passing yards.

These announcements come after it was reported that Ken Dorsey, the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the Bills, would likely be promoted to OC with Daboll gone. The only alternative, it is believed, would be if Daboll convinced Dorsey to follow him to New York. With Buffalo looking at two external candidates, the team will have options if that does in fact happen.

Ken Dorsey To Be Considered For Bills, Giants OC Jobs

January 29th, 2022 at 8:55am CST by Ben Levine

Following Brian Daboll‘s hiring in New York, another Bills coach will likely be getting a promotion. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), Bills passing-game coordinator and QB coach Ken Dorsey will likely earn a promotion to OC.

As Schefter notes, that opportunity could come from two places. Dorsey could easily slide in to the OC vacancy with the Bills, and ESPN’s Dan Graziano tweets his believe that Dorsey will ultimately get the job in Buffalo. However, as Lindsay Jones of The Athletic tweets, the Rooney Rule will require the organization to interview at least one minority candidate for the job, so Dorsey won’t be a shoo-in.

Alternatively, the coach could join Daboll in New York and become the Giants new OC. Dorsey worked alongside Daboll for three seasons in Buffalo.

Dorsey has been an NFL QBs coach since 2013. He spent five years with the Panthers before following the pipeline up north, joining his former bosses in Buffalo. Dorsey was with Carolina during the franchise’s most recent Super Bowl season, when Cam Newton soared to MVP honors in 2015. Since then, he’s raised his stock even further, taking Josh Allen from an inaccurate prospect to an MVP candidate.

Ken Dorsey To Serve As Bills’ Passing Game Coordinator

July 15th, 2021 at 9:41am CST by Zachary Links

The Bills have appointed Ken Dorsey as their passing game coordinator, as Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 tweets. It’s a new title for the former quarterback, who serves as the team’s QBs coach.

The new position presumably comes with a pay bump. The Bills nearly lost the former University of Miami passer this year as he garnered interest from the Seahawks and Lions. Ultimately, Dorsey stayed put to serve under Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, but both clubs saw him as a potential fit for their OC vacancies.

Dorsey has been an NFL QBs coach since 2013. He spent five years with the Panthers before following the pipeline up north, joining his former bosses in Buffalo. Dorsey was with Carolina during the franchise’s most recent Super Bowl season, when Cam Newton soared to MVP honors in 2015. Since then, he’s raised his stock even further, taking Josh Allen from an inaccurate prospect to an MVP candidate.

Dorsey, 40, figures to be a hot candidate in the next cycle as well. But, for now, he’ll stay put in Buffalo with an even larger role.

Coaching Notes: Seahawks, Titans, Dolphins

January 24th, 2021 at 9:36pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ve got another couple of names to pass along for Seattle’s wide-ranging offensive coordinator search. The Seahawks want to interview Bills quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey and have already spoken with Rams pass-game coordinator Shane Waldron, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. They’ve been linked to what seems like every offensive coach in the league now, including Adam Gase and other big names. Dorsey was a backup quarterback in the league for a handful of years, and the 39-year-old was the Panthers’ quarterbacks coach from 2013-17.

He joined the Bills last season. Waldron is another young guy who has coached under Rams coach Sean McVay since 2016 since they were both with Washington. He started as McVay’s tight ends coach in Los Angeles before getting promoted to quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator. The Seahawks don’t appear to be honing in on anything in particular, and at this point it’s anyone’s guess who they’ll hire.

Here are more coaching notes from around the league:

The Texans are the only team still with a head coach opening, but they aren’t letting one key assistant go out the door yet. They recently blocked offensive coordinator Tim Kelly from interviewing for OC openings with two other teams, and those interested teams were the Titans and Lions, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. Since it would be a lateral move and he’s still under contract, Houston can block those requests. As Breer points out, there has been buzz that Deshaun Watson likes Kelly, and the team could be looking to keep him in order to curry favor with their disgruntled starting quarterback. Detroit has since filled their vacancy with former Chargers coach Anthony Lynn.
Speaking of the Titans’ opening, Tennessee will be interviewing Pep Hamilton for the job in the next few days, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Hamilton was the Chargers’ quarterbacks coach this past year, and did a great job helping with the development of Justin Herbert, so he’s been drawing a lot of interest for OC jobs. He was talked about as a candidate in Miami, and is one of the finalists in Pittsburgh as well. The Titans of course are looking to replace Arthur Smith, now the head coach in Atlanta. Hamilton coordinated the Colts’ offense from 2013-15, and had a lot of success with Andrew Luck.
The Dolphins are still looking for their OC, but they have made a different key hire on offense. The team has parted ways with quarterbacks coach Robby Brown and replaced him with former NFL passer Charlie Frye, they announced in a tweet. It’s the first NFL coaching gig for Frye, who was Central Michigan’s offensive coordinator the past two seasons. It’s interesting that they’d hire the QBs coach before the OC. A third-round pick of the Browns back in 2005, Frye also played with the Seahawks and Raiders until 2009.

Anthony Lynn, Ken Dorsey On Lions’ Radar

January 21st, 2021 at 3:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

After hiring Aaron Glenn as defensive coordinator, the Lions are moving fast on their offensive coordinator job. Two more candidates have emerged for Detroit’s play-calling post.

Former Chargers HC Anthony Lynn and current Bills QBs coach Ken Dorsey are on Detroit’s radar for this position, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press notes. New Lions HC Dan Campbell said he has interviewed four OC candidates already, per Birkett (on Twitter). Ravens QBs coach James Urban and Steelers wide receivers instructor Ike Hilliard are in the mix for the gig.

This makes two OC positions to which Lynn has been connected. He has also engaged in discussions with Pete Carroll regarding Seattle’s play-calling role. Lynn, 52, spent the past four seasons as the Chargers’ head coach. The Bolts fired him shortly after the season ended, moving to Brandon Staley.

Lynn took the Chargers to the playoffs in 2018, with a 12-4 record, and oversaw Justin Herbert‘s rapid development this past season. However, Lynn was not the Bolts’ primary play-caller. He spent most of the 2016 season calling plays in Buffalo, after an early-season promotion to offensive coordinator.

A former decorated college quarterback, Dorsey has been an NFL QBs coach since the 2013 season. He is one of many players and staffers to migrate from Charlotte to Buffalo, working as Panthers QBs coach for five seasons before signing on with the Bills to work in that same role in 2019.

The centerpiece of Dorsey’s credentials for a coordinator move will obviously be Josh Allen‘s rise from inaccurate prospect to MVP candidate over the past year. However, Dorsey was also with Carolina during the franchise’s most recent Super Bowl season — when Cam Newton soared to MVP honors in 2015. Dorsey, 39, interviewed for the Bills’ OC position in 2017 but has worked under current Buffalo play-caller Brian Daboll over the past two seasons.

Staff Notes: Bills, Taylor, 49ers, Ryan, Eagles

February 2nd, 2019 at 4:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Another former Panthers assistant will land a job on the Bills‘ coaching staff. Buffalo hired Ken Dorsey to be its quarterbacks coach. A former Miami Hurricane standout, prior to his days with the 49ers and Browns, Dorsey spent five seasons as the Panthers’ QBs coach. In 2018, the 37-year-old coach was on Appalachian State’s staff. Dorsey will take over for David Culley, who is now on Baltimore’s staff. The Bills also promoted Chad Hall to wide receivers coach. The 32-year-old former NFLer spent his first two seasons in coaching as a Bills offensive assistant. Another hire the Bills announced this week: bringing in Terry Heffernan to be their assistant offensive line coach. Heffernan has NFL coaching experience, being a Lions staffer earlier this decade, but spent the past three years at Division I-FCS Eastern Kentucky. Heffernan coached under new Bills offensive line coach Bobby Johnson in Detroit.

None of the offensive coaches who have been hired or promoted have a direct tie to second-year OC Brian Daboll, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. Here is the latest from the coaching carousel:

Two teams have yet to hire their head coaches, but the Bengals will look to finalize their agreement with Zac Taylor soon after Super Bowl LIII. The Rams’ quarterbacks coach will travel to Cincinnati on Monday, with NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweeting the parties will make their pending partnership official.
Rob Ryan initiated the process that ended with him becoming the Redskins‘ new inside linebackers coach. The former defensive coordinator said Kirk Olivadotti‘s decision to take a job with the Packers prompted him to reach out to the Redskins about a job, Ryan said on NBC Sports Washington‘s Redskins Talk podcast. Ryan interviewed with the Redskins twice in the past but has never worked with the franchise.
Kyle Shanahan was a bit surprised teams aggressively pursued members of his coaching staff, considering the 49ers went 4-12 this season. “It was a little unexpected,” Shanahan said during an interview with KNBR (via NBC Sports Bay Area). “I didn’t think our staff was going to get raided after a 4-12 year, so that caught me off a little bit.” The Broncos did the main raiding, hiring Rich Scangarello and T.C. McCartney. The Packers also hired Adam Stenavich to become their offensive line coach. Shanahan also denied permission for the Vikings and Packers to interview Mike LaFleur and did not allow Mike McDaniel to speak with the Cardinals, citing neither offensive assistant being up for a play-calling role with one of those teams.
San Francisco also lost another assistant, but this time to the college ranks. Defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley will become the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State.
The Eagles will swap out assistant offensive line coaches. After Eugene Chung‘s contract expired, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro notes the Eagles will hire Roy Istvan to replace him. Istvan will come all the way up from the NAIA level, having coached most recently at Florida’s Keiser University. However, he spent time with Philadelphia offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland in the distant past, playing for Stoutland at Southern Connecticut in the 1980s and then breaking into coaching during Stoutland’s stay as that program’s OC. This will be Istvan’s first NFL job.

Falcons To Interview Bevell, Dorsey

January 18th, 2018 at 4:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons are interviewing multiple free agent coaches for their vacant quarterbacks coach position. Recently fired assistants Darrell Bevell and Ken Dorsey are set to interview for the post, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Bevell has spent the past 12 seasons as an offensive coordinator, with the Vikings from 2006-10 and Seahawks from 2011-17. He will interview for this lower-level perch nonetheless. Mike Shula won’t, however, with Ledbetter reporting the ex-Panthers offensive coordinator wants to catch on as an OC somewhere else.

The Falcons also interviewed Greg Knapp and Jedd Fisch for this job, one that’s becoming quite the competition. The Falcons already announced Steve Sarkisian will return for a second season as OC, and the team looks set to add a big name to work under him.

These coaches are vying to replace Bush Hamdan, who left at season’s end to become OC at the University of Washington.

Bevell last worked as a QBs coach from 2003-05, when he oversaw Brett Favre‘s work with the Packers. Dorsey coached Panthers passers from 2013-17. Bevell and Quinn worked together as coordinators in Seattle from 2013-14.

Panthers Fire OC Mike Shula

January 9th, 2018 at 11:15am CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers announced that offensive coordinator Mike Shula and quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey have been fired.

Shula spent the past seven seasons with the team, working as quarterbacks coach for two seasons before becoming offensive coordinator in 2013. Last year, Carolina finished 19th in total offense (323.7), 17th in offensive DVOA, fourth in rushing offense (131.4), 28th in passing (192.3), and 12th in points (22.7). Ultimately, it wasn’t good enough as the Panthers were eliminated in the first stage of the playoffs.

Dorsey has been the Panthers’ QBs coach for the last five seasons. Although he has groomed Cam Newton into one of the league’s finest quarterbacks, the Panthers believe that they can do better.

The staff shakeup comes just days after a multi-year extension for head coach Ron Rivera. Between the firing of Shula and Dorsey and the likely departure of Steve Wilks, the Panthers will see serious turnover in 2018.

The Panthers join the Bears, Browns, Packers, and Giants as teams in search of a new offensive coordinator.