Bills’ Allen takes OC firing personally: ‘It hurts’

Alaina Getzenberg, ESPNNov 15, 2023, 05:45 PM ET
Close

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills‘ decision to move on from offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey is personal on multiple levels for quarterback Josh Allen.

Dorsey has worked with Allen since 2019, first as the team’s quarterbacks coach. In January 2022, after another playoff exit at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, Allen successfully lobbied for Dorsey to get the offensive coordinator job.

Coach Sean McDermott made the decision to fire Dorsey on Tuesday after the team fell to 5-5 with Monday’s loss to the Denver Broncos. It’s the team’s worst winning percentage through more than two games since finishing 6-10 in 2018.

Buffalo now sits outside of the playoff picture heading into a Week 11 matchup against the New York Jets, who defeated the Bills in Week 1.

Allen on Wednesday said that if the Bills had played better, Dorsey would still be employed.

“Without a doubt, and I take that very personally,” Allen said. “It hurts a lot to see someone you care about go through a situation like that and to know that if I could have done more, if this offense could have done more, we wouldn’t have had to do something like that.

“… It’s an unfortunate series of events that have led up to it, but, again, as much as you can sit here and feel sorry for yourself and you can sulk on what’s going on, we got a game to prepare for and it’s four days away, so we can’t pay too much attention to it.”

The Bills would’ve won against the Broncos on Monday night, but a penalty for having 12 men on the field negated a missed field goal as time expired, allowing Denver another attempt that resulted in the 24-22 victory.

McDermott said the decision to fire Dorsey was based on what took place over the season. Quarterbacks coach Joe Brady was named interim offensive coordinator in Dorsey’s place.

“Obviously not a set of circumstances you want to be in, especially during the middle of the season,” said Allen, who said that he talked to McDermott about why the move was made. “I love Dorsey as a human being; he’s one of the good ones. He’s been in this room with me for a very long time.

“I feel like I owe him a lot of the success that I’ve had in my career, and he’s been a huge part of that, so it’s sad to see him go. The fact is, we play better as a team, we probably don’t have to make a move like that. He was a big part of what we’ve been doing here in the last few years.”

The Bills’ offense has played below expectations this season and has been too predictable at times, especially since Week 5. During that stretch, they have gone 2-4 and have averaged just 20.5 points per game after averaging 34.8 over the first four weeks. Turnovers per drive have increased from 12% to 21%, with Allen leading †he league with 14 turnovers.

Slow starts have also been a major issue, with the Bills outscoring only the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants in the first half since Week 5.

Allen expressed his confidence in Brady, whom he has worked with closely since he was hired in 2022.

“The clock’s ticking on what we can do this season and it starts this Sunday to try to turn this thing around,” Allen said. “It’s no secret in terms of how many wins you probably need to get to the playoffs, and we don’t got much more wiggle room. So, we understand that.”