Ken Dorsey firing puts Sean McDermott's future on the line
Now that Ken Dorsey is out of the picture, the final outcome of the Buffalo Bills' 2023 season rests squarely on the shoulders of head coach Sean McDermott.McDermott is the last man standing on a coaching staff that has now seen both coordinators exit stage right over the span of a little more than eight […]
Now that Ken Dorsey is out of the picture, the final outcome of the Buffalo Bills' 2023 season rests squarely on the shoulders of head coach Sean McDermott.
McDermott is the last man standing on a coaching staff that has now seen both coordinators exit stage right over the span of a little more than eight short months. While the departure of defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier seems more to be in line with his own career aspirations, it's clear Dorsey's firing is due to the frustrating product that is the Bills offense in 2023.
And with that move, McDermott's own clock has started to count down.
At this point, it's McDermott's ship and there are no co-captains. There's no one to blame if things don't work out. Sure, new interim offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, is going to do everything he can in order to get Josh Allen and co. back on track, but is anyone really going to say it's all his fault if he can't get things going?
No, they won't. Or at least, they shouldn't. The real conversation to be had in this hypothetical -the conversation that holds the most weight about the state of the franchise- should be how Brady's boss put him in a near-impossible situation with seven games left in the season.
You know, it's a lot like having 12 men on the field during a potential game-winning play.
Outside of very special circumstances, people can only operate in the environment in which they've been given and it goes without saying the Bills, in general, are not in a good place, right now.
Hell, they haven't been in a good spot since they beat the Miami Dolphins in Week 4, really.
It's basically a lock that Sean McDermott won't be the Bills head coach in 2024
The Bills are an unmitigated disaster. It doesn't matter how good they've looked at times, nor what the advanced stats say. They simply can't execute consistently enough to win games, much less big games, in the NFL. The lack of discipline, focus, and overall direction all stems from the top and now there's no one else to blame but McDermott.
Let's be real, for a second. Does anyone see this getting fixed anytime soon? And it has to happen, now. The Bills missed their shot to crawl back into the playoff race and now sit in 10th place in the AFC. If the Bills lose to the New York Jets this week and the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Dolphins, then the Raiders will jump the Bills in the standings – that's how bad things are, right now.
And, that's something else to think about: Brady has to try and revamp his offense against an extremely tough Jets squad. Then he has the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, and Dallas Cowboys to deal with. Three of those four teams are top-7 in points allowed, with the Chiefs and Cowboys being top-4.
McDermott better hope for a miracle over these next seven weeks. Because if he doesn't fix this, he's going to be looking for a new job in 2024.
The most positive outcome
While it's rare for interim coaches to have enough success to where they retain their job after the season, it's not impossible.
There are a few notable examples over the years: The Bills' own Anthony Lynn, for starters. Then, there's the Baltimore Ravens' decision to fire Cam Cameron and promote Jim Caldwell, the Cleveland Browns' decision to fire Todd Haley and promote Freddie Kitchens, Brian Billick's promotion with the Minnesota Vikings, Byron Leftwich and the Arizona Cardinals, Shane Steichen and the Los Angeles Chargers, and Jim Bob Cooter and the Detroit Lions are all examples of guys who were promoted in-season and had success to where they were retained, or even promoted, the following year.
Brady can certainly make that happen with the Bills offense, but only time will tell.
