NFL Head Coaching Candidates 2024 & Beyond~SI

[BuffaloBillyG]

So, who are you going to replace him with?

 

That's the question most asked when someone wants to fire a Head Coach. Attached is a really fantastic article from SI that discusses who the "next man ups" are for HC jobs. And yes, our very own Ken Dorsey is on the list. As is Joe Brady as a "down the road" name, As is Bobby Babich, Former Bills QBs Thad Lewis and Davis Webb. I thought this was an outstanding read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ken Dorsey, offensive coordinator, Bills

 

After learning more about Dorsey, the most impressive part of his candidacy is the myriad ways in which he can win on offense. The Bills are one of the most versatile teams in football schematically, and Dorsey, a former quarterback at the University of Miami and with both the 49ers and Browns, has designed a dizzying system for opponents to try to match up against. Dorsey is not tied to one system. The assumption is often that the Bills are a chuck-it offense, but some of Dorsey’s best work, according to those familiar with his system, has come in the intricacies of how he designs the running game.

[HomeskillitMoorman]

Hope this helps Dorsey get hired away from here. 
 

Then replace McD with Ben Johnson and we got somethin cookin! 

Edited September 29, 2023 by HomeskillitMoorman

[LABILLBACKER]

If I'm Terry and Sean again fails to get this team to a SB, I'm keeping Beane and offering Ben Johnson whatever he wants.  I know the McDermott apologists will lose their mind, but I don't care.  I'm not waiting another 8-10 years for Sean to get that Andy Reid moment. The next 6 years is Josh's prime.  We need to go full throttle on building a dominant offense.  I just trust an offensive HC over a defensive one in this era.  13 seconds was and will always be egregious. 

[hondo in seattle]

7 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

If I'm Terry and Sean again fails to get this team to a SB, I'm keeping Beane and offering Ben Johnson whatever he wants.  I know the McDermott apologists will lose their mind, but I don't care.  I'm not waiting another 8-10 years for Sean to get that Andy Reid moment. The next 6 years is Josh's prime.  We need to go full throttle on building a dominant offense.  I just trust an offensive HC over a defensive one in this era.  13 seconds was and will always be egregious. 

 

I'm a McD fan (call me an "apologist" if you want) and I won't go apoplectic because I don't lose my cool over people saying stuff online.  I do disagree with you, however.  Here are some random reasons why...

 

*  The fixation on 13 seconds isn't rational. McD has coached the team for more than 360,000 seconds but you want to use those 13 seconds to define him.  During those 13 seconds, a great offense executed at a high level, and a couple of Bills players made mistakes.  I don't think the game even makes it to OT if McD was a lesser coach.  I don't think we even get to that game in the first place if McD was a lesser coach.  And, btw, even great generals (Caesar, William the Conqueror, Napoleon, Patton, etc.) had bad days and suffered defeats.  Even talented leaders sometimes fail to deliver.  

 

*  We have not had the best roster in the NFL in any year that McD has been here.  I'm not sure why we require him to beat better teams in the playoffs and win the Super Bowl without a Super Bowl-quality roster.    

 

*  Repeatedly firing coaches doesn't work.  I prefer the Steelers model.  They've had 3 head coaches over the past 50 years.  That stability has given them 6 more Lombardis than we've won.  

 

*  Statistically speaking, each team has a 3% of winning the Super Bowl - all things being equal.  In fact, each year there are maybe six teams with superior rosters/coaching with a roughly 10% chance of winning it all.  Thanks to both Beane and McD, the Bills are in that elite group.

 

*  McDermott has the highest win percentage in Bills history.  Objectively, he's the best of the twenty guys to have the title of Bills HC.  

 

*  If you fired McD, who would you replace him with?  The best coaches (Andy Reid, for example) already have jobs.  Most college coaches who are hired to be NFL coaches don't turn out to be very good.  Most coordinators who become head coaches don't turn out to be very good.  Most head coaches the Bills hire don't turn out to be very good.  In other words, it's most likely that McD's replacement will be worse, not better. 

 

 

[Xwnyer]

8 hours ago, HomeskillitMoorman said:

Hope this helps Dorsey get hired away from here. 
 

Then replace McD with Ben Johnson and we got somethin cookin! 

OMG Dorsey is an innovator 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Saxum]

9 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

So, who are you going to replace him with?

 

That's the question most asked when someone wants to fire a Head Coach. Attached is a really fantastic article from SI that discusses who the "next man ups" are for HC jobs. And yes, our very own Ken Dorsey is on the list. As is Joe Brady as a "down the road" name, As is Bobby Babich, Former Bills QBs Thad Lewis and Davis Webb. I thought this was an outstanding read.

 

 

Davis Webb I have expected for last few years. 

[LABILLBACKER]

3 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I'm a McD fan (call me an "apologist" if you want) and I won't go apoplectic because I don't lose my cool over people saying stuff online.  I do disagree with you, however.  Here are some random reasons why...

 

*  The fixation on 13 seconds isn't rational. McD has coached the team for more than 360,000 seconds but you want to use those 13 seconds to define him.  During those 13 seconds, a great offense executed at a high level, and a couple of Bills players made mistakes.  I don't think the game even makes it to OT if McD was a lesser coach.  I don't think we even get to that game in the first place if McD was a lesser coach.  And, btw, even great generals (Caesar, William the Conqueror, Napoleon, Patton, etc.) had bad days and suffered defeats.  Even talented leaders sometimes fail to deliver.  

 

*  We have not had the best roster in the NFL in any year that McD has been here.  I'm not sure why we require him to beat better teams in the playoffs and win the Super Bowl without a Super Bowl-quality roster.    

 

*  Repeatedly firing coaches doesn't work.  I prefer the Steelers model.  They've had 3 head coaches over the past 50 years.  That stability has given them 6 more Lombardis than we've won.  

 

*  Statistically speaking, each team has a 3% of winning the Super Bowl - all things being equal.  In fact, each year there are maybe six teams with superior rosters/coaching with a roughly 10% chance of winning it all.  Thanks to both Beane and McD, the Bills are in that elite group.

 

*  McDermott has the highest win percentage in Bills history.  Objectively, he's the best of the twenty guys to have the title of Bills HC.  

 

*  If you fired McD, who would you replace him with?  The best coaches (Andy Reid, for example) already have jobs.  Most college coaches who are hired to be NFL coaches don't turn out to be very good.  Most coordinators who become head coaches don't turn out to be very good.  Most head coaches the Bills hire don't turn out to be very good.  In other words, it's most likely that McD's replacement will be worse, not better. 

 

 

13 seconds will never be just a fixation. It was a collassal blunder by a HC who at the very least should've ensured his ST knew what to do on the kickoff.  And did you stop and think that maybe the reason our roster has been lacking like you said is a insistence by McD to emphasize defensive picks that didn't quite pan out.

 

And as far as your last question as I stated earlier I'd hire Ben Johnson in a heartbeat.  He wouldn't tolerate OT's that compromise JA's production.  There's going to be a time when even McD supporters eventually tire of regular season accomplishments.  

[GunnerBill]

Who knew Thad Lewis was QB coach in Tampa? 

18 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

13 seconds will never be just a fixation. It was a collassal blunder by a HC who at the very least should've ensured his ST knew what to do on the kickoff.  And did you stop and think that maybe the reason our roster has been lacking like you said is a insistence by McD to emphasize defensive picks that didn't quite pan out.

 

And as far as your last question as I stated earlier I'd hire Ben Johnson in a heartbeat.  He wouldn't tolerate OT's that compromise JA's production.  There's going to be a time when even McD supporters eventually tire of regular season accomplishments.  

 

No because McDermott does not run the draft.

[LABILLBACKER]

22 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Who knew Thad Lewis was QB coach in Tampa? 

 

No because McDermott does not run the draft.

What world do you live in where HC's have no say or impact on the draft.  Parcells would constantly gloat about buying the groceries. 

[GunnerBill]

52 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

What world do you live in where HC's have no say or impact on the draft.  Parcells would constantly gloat about buying the groceries. 

 

Of course they have a say. But Brandon Beane runs the draft. He controls personnel. He and McDermott are very, very close. They are aligned on most things. But Brandon is accountable for personnel. Sean is accountable for how it is used.

[BuffaloBillyG]

8 hours ago, Xwnyer said:

OMG Dorsey is an innovator 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I actually buy this. Dorsey has a lot of knowledge and has designed a very complex system to run. I don't think the "X's &O's" are his issues at all. I feel like where he does struggle a bit is with his play calls. Some situational awareness stuff. 

 

I think his system, while being hard to defend as it's said above, may also be hard to learn properly. We heard the whole back half of last season the Nyheim Hines was "learning the system".  I said going back to last year it seems like Dorsey should streamline/simplify things a bit. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

8 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I'm a McD fan (call me an "apologist" if you want) and I won't go apoplectic because I don't lose my cool over people saying stuff online.  I do disagree with you, however.  Here are some random reasons why...

 

*  The fixation on 13 seconds isn't rational. McD has coached the team for more than 360,000 seconds but you want to use those 13 seconds to define him.  During those 13 seconds, a great offense executed at a high level, and a couple of Bills players made mistakes.  I don't think the game even makes it to OT if McD was a lesser coach.  I don't think we even get to that game in the first place if McD was a lesser coach.  And, btw, even great generals (Caesar, William the Conqueror, Napoleon, Patton, etc.) had bad days and suffered defeats.  Even talented leaders sometimes fail to deliver.  

 

*  We have not had the best roster in the NFL in any year that McD has been here.  I'm not sure why we require him to beat better teams in the playoffs and win the Super Bowl without a Super Bowl-quality roster.    

 

*  Repeatedly firing coaches doesn't work.  I prefer the Steelers model.  They've had 3 head coaches over the past 50 years.  That stability has given them 6 more Lombardis than we've won.  

 

*  Statistically speaking, each team has a 3% of winning the Super Bowl - all things being equal.  In fact, each year there are maybe six teams with superior rosters/coaching with a roughly 10% chance of winning it all.  Thanks to both Beane and McD, the Bills are in that elite group.

 

*  McDermott has the highest win percentage in Bills history.  Objectively, he's the best of the twenty guys to have the title of Bills HC.  

 

*  If you fired McD, who would you replace him with?  The best coaches (Andy Reid, for example) already have jobs.  Most college coaches who are hired to be NFL coaches don't turn out to be very good.  Most coordinators who become head coaches don't turn out to be very good.  Most head coaches the Bills hire don't turn out to be very good.  In other words, it's most likely that McD's replacement will be worse, not better. 

 

 

This is a very good set of points. Agree with most of this. In response:

 

- I think "13 seconds" lives on in the minds of the fans and media way more than in the Bills locker room. Players have a history of moving on from such things while fans tend to over obsess.

 

- This point I would disagree with. Over the last 2-3 years especially, this has been easily a top 10 roster and at times been a top 5 roster. The thing this roster lacks is top end elite players outside of Diggs, Allen and Von. However the depth has been absolutely stellar.

 

- Wholeheartedly agree here. Continuity is an amazing asset to have. The trick is in finding the right people to keep around. The Steelers have made it look simple. However, where would we be if we chose to start the continuity trend with Greg Williams? Chan Gailey?

 

- It is hard to win it all. A lot of things have to happen right all year long. On top of that you have to be playing your best ball, with a healthy team and even then have a couple breaks slide your way. 

 

- I like McDermott. As a coach and as a person. I would be hard pressed to name 5 coaches currently in the NFL that I'd rather have. This franchise has faced tons of adversity each year and he manages to keep the team together and win games. 

 

However, I say the same thing about HCs that I do about QBs. Don't let good prevent you from great. Now, making change for change sake isn't something I would do...but 2-3 years from now if the trophy case is still empty it may be in the best interest of both McD and the Bills to go their separate ways.

[SoCal Deek]

8 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

This is a very good set of points. Agree with most of this. In response:

 

- I think "13 seconds" lives on in the minds of the fans and media way more than in the Bills locker room. Players have a history of moving on from such things while fans tend to over obsess.

 

- This point I would disagree with. Over the last 2-3 years especially, this has been easily a top 10 roster and at times been a top 5 roster. The thing this roster lacks is top end elite players outside of Diggs, Allen and Von. However the depth has been absolutely stellar.

 

- Wholeheartedly agree here. Continuity is an amazing asset to have. The trick is in finding the right people to keep around. The Steelers have made it look simple. However, where would we be if we chose to start the continuity trend with Greg Williams? Chan Gailey?

 

- It is hard to win it all. A lot of things have to happen right all year long. On top of that you have to be playing your best ball, with a healthy team and even then have a couple breaks slide your way. 

 

- I like McDermott. As a coach and as a person. I would be hard pressed to name 5 coaches currently in the NFL that I'd rather have. This franchise has faced tons of adversity each year and he manages to keep the team together and win games. 

 

However, I say the same thing about HCs that I do about QBs. Don't let good prevent you from great. Now, making change for change sake isn't something I would do...but 2-3 years from now if the trophy case is still empty it may be in the best interest of both McD and the Bills to go their separate ways.

I’d simplify it. McD is known as a defensive coach. After his first few years learning the ropes as a head coach he now has his feet firmly underneath him and feels comfortable also taking over the responsibilities of the defense. (Somewhat the opposite of Andy Reid in KC) What McD needs now is an OFFENSIVE specialist that can match the skill set of his franchise quarterback. Is Dorsey the guy? I’m not sure whether anybody knows yet, but I’m leaning towards…not. We’re all going to see. 

[Ya Digg?]

5 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

13 seconds will never be just a fixation. It was a collassal blunder by a HC who at the very least should've ensured his ST knew what to do on the kickoff.  And did you stop and think that maybe the reason our roster has been lacking like you said is a insistence by McD to emphasize defensive picks that didn't quite pan out.

 

And as far as your last question as I stated earlier I'd hire Ben Johnson in a heartbeat.  He wouldn't tolerate OT's that compromise JA's production.  There's going to be a time when even McD supporters eventually tire of regular season accomplishments.  

Someone needs to explain the Ben Johnson obsession to me, i honestly don’t get it. Also, you really need to explain that bolded sentence 

[BuffaloBillyG]

14 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

I’d simplify it. McD is known as a defensive coach. After his first few years learning the ropes as a head coach he now has his feet firmly underneath him and feels comfortable also taking over the responsibilities of the defense. (Somewhat the opposite of Andy Reid in KC) What McD needs now is an OFFENSIVE specialist that can match the skill set of his franchise quarterback. Is Dorsey the guy? I’m not sure whether anybody knows yet, but I’m leaning towards…not. We’re all going to see. 

I actually am a huge fan of Dorsey's potential. He, IMO, 100% deserved an opportunity to be an OC. I truly believe that the sky is the limit for him. As far as matching the skill set of Allen, I think he's able to do that. Now, my question his can he keep Allen focused on the methodical game plans that they are having to go to with what defenses are giving them?

 

Even saying that, I was against him being the OC for the Bills. I always felt it was the wrong hire for a few reasons. First off, once Josh said that's who he wanted it seemed there was no real effort made into finding the best guy suited for the job. Second, an outside hire may have had things to teach Allen and the rest of the offense that were new and would make them even better. And third, having a neophyte OC calling plays was never a great idea for a Super Bowl contending team. Dorsey absolutely deserved a chance somewhere. But man, learning OTJ at the top is a tough task. 

[Don Otreply]

I’m “okay” with Dorsey, but…, 

 

   He does call some head scratcher plays at times, it’s as if he isn’t seeing what everyone else is seeing type of thing, for lack of a better way of saying it.
 

    I see stuff like Joshes 30 yard pass to digs, that cover 1 highlighted, why is Gabe running a route that is effectively five yard from Diggs when Diggs makes the catch on the same play?  I’ve seen this same type of thing with our WRs on different parts of the field in games from last season as well, it seems odd to compact an catch spot with two receivers and the opponents that are covering them, why is this an actual play route for two guys to hit catch points next to each other? That and the screen pass to Diggs for a loss of yards…, odd play calling to me, oh well,

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Dopey]

18 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

If I'm Terry and Sean again fails to get this team to a SB, I'm keeping Beane and offering Ben Johnson whatever he wants.  I know the McDermott apologists will lose their mind, but I don't care.  I'm not waiting another 8-10 years for Sean to get that Andy Reid moment. The next 6 years is Josh's prime.  We need to go full throttle on building a dominant offense.  I just trust an offensive HC over a defensive one in this era.  13 seconds was and will always be egregious. 

We don’t care that you don’t care. You’re not that important here. 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

35 minutes ago, Dopey said:

We don’t care that you don’t care. You’re not that important here. 

>> How's he not important?!

 

<<Howie's not important?  But he is!
 

>>Buddy's not important?
 

As for the coaching issue, just remember: They're tanned, rested, and ready.  And one had dental work done.👇🏽

[HoofHearted]

1 hour ago, Don Otreply said:

I’m “okay” with Dorsey, but…, 

 

   He does call some head scratcher plays at times, it’s as if he isn’t seeing what everyone else is seeing type of thing, for lack of a better way of saying it.
 

    I see stuff like Joshes 30 yard pass to digs, that cover 1 highlighted, why is Gabe running a route that is effectively five yard from Diggs when Diggs makes the catch on the same play?  I’ve seen this same type of thing with our WRs on different parts of the field in games from last season as well, it seems odd to compact an catch spot with two receivers and the opponents that are covering them, why is this an actual play route for two guys to hit catch points next to each other? That and the screen pass to Diggs for a loss of yards…, odd play calling to me, oh well,

 

GO BILLS!!!

This is why most fan takes on Dorsey are garbage (this is a general statement, not an attack on you). Understanding the game is crucial. It's scramble drill my guy - it's not designed to do that. By design if the QB leaves the pocket receivers are taught to 1) abandon their route and work to the side of the field the QB escaped to and 2) if running something short - take it deep | if running something deep - come back to the ball. It was just lack of field awareness on Gabe's part - not an indictment on Dorsey.

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

I have a hard time imagining Dorsey as a head coach. Personality-wise. But I think he'll be good as our OC, he's had to learn a bit on the job I'd say.