New Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey: 5 things to know

BEREA — A year ago, the big offseason coaching move for the Browns was to bring in Jim Schwartz as the new defensive coordinator. The move paid dividends as the defense finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in multiple categories.

Now, the Browns are hoping Ken Dorsey can do the same for their offense.

Dorsey was hired Sunday evening to be the Browns' offensive coordinator. He's replacing Alex Van Pelt, who was let go along with running backs coach Stump Mitchell and tight ends coach T.C. McCartney a couple of days after Cleveland's AFC wild card loss at the Houston Texans.

So, who exactly as the Browns getting in the 42-year-old Dorsey? Here are five things to know about the Browns offensive coordinator:

Ken Dorsey's playing career has all sorts of Ohio connections

Dorsey's playing career, both in college and the NFL, found its way to have ample ties to Ohio. It started with Butch Davis, the coach who recruited him to the University of Miami (Fla.) and coached him his first two seasons, going on to take the Browns coaching job before Dorsey's junior season in 2001.

The final game of Dorsey's illustrious Miami career was also one of the greatest college football games in the last several decades — the Fiesta Bowl in January 2003 against Ohio State. Dorsey threw for 296 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions as the Buckeyes won in two overtimes to prevent the Hurricanes from winning their second consecutive national championship.

Dorsey spent the first three seasons of his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers from 2003-05. However, he was traded with a seventh-round pick in 2006 to the Browns in exchange for Trent Dilfer.

In three seasons with the Browns, Dorsey appeared in five games, including three starts during the 2008 season. That was the last time the Browns started four quarterbacks in one season until the just concluded season, when five quarterbacks started.

Ex-Browns QB Derek Anderson counts Ken Dorsey as former teammate and coach

Dorsey was the No. 3 quarterback primarily for the Browns during his time in Cleveland. Derek Anderson was the No. 1 for the better part of his last two seasons with the team.

The two went separate directions after the 2008 season: Dorsey essentially out of the NFL while Anderson remained for one final season in Cleveland. However, their paths reunited in a different way five years later.

Dorsey was a first-year pro scout working for the Carolina Panthers in 2011 when they signed Anderson to be their backup quarterback. Two years later, in 2013, he was named quarterbacks coach when Ron Rivera was hired as head coach, reuniting him with his former Browns teammate.

Dorsey coached Anderson through the 2017 season, after which Anderson signed with the Buffalo Bills. Anderson retired in May 2019, months after Dorsey had been hired as Bills quarterbacks coach.

Ken Dorsey coached an NFL MVP in Cam Newton with the Panthers

Dorsey had a much more talented quarterback than Anderson to work with while he was in Carolina. Over five seasons in that role, he was able to work with Cam Newton.

Those included two of Newton's three Pro Bowl seasons as well as arguably his best season as a pro in 2015. That season, Newton was the NFL's Most Valuable Player and led the Panthers to the Super Bowl. Newton posted a 99.4 passer rating and 35 touchdown passes, both career highs. He also rushed for 636 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Josh Allen took strides with Ken Dorsey as his quarterbacks coach in Buffalo

Dorsey was hired in 2019 as the Buffalo Bills' quarterbacks coach by new head coach Sean McDermott. That gave him a chance to work with Josh Allen, another MVP-caliber quarterback, who taken No. 7 overall in the 2018 draft.

In Dorsey's first season with Allen, the quarterback's completion percentage jumped six full percentage points from his rookie season, going from 52.8% or 58.8%. The next season, Allen fully broke through into the elite category.

That season, Allen finished second in the MVP race while setting career highs in completion percentage (69.2%), yards (4,544 yards), touchdown passes (37) and passer rating (107.2). He also had his lowest interception percentage at 1.7%.

That was one of two Pro Bowl seasons for Allen, the other coming in 2022. That was the first season Dorsey was not the quarterbacks coach, having relinquished that title to Joe Brady after having been promoted to offensive coordinator.

Ken Dorsey's first year as offensive coordinator was highly productive

Although his time in Buffalo as offensive coordinator may have ended poorly for Dorsey last November when he was fired after a Week 10 loss to the Denver Broncos, it had started out much better.

After being elevated to the position in 2022 when Brian Daboll was hired as the New York Giants head coach, Dorsey oversaw an offense that was all over the top 10 of the various statistical categories. The Bills were second in total yards (374.2), seventh in rushing yards (131.3), sixth in passing yards (242.9) and fourth in scoring (26.8), while being the most efficient third-down offense (50.3%) in the league.

Beyond that, Allen was second in touchdown passes with 35. He also ran for 762 yards — 32nd in the league — and seven touchdowns that season on 124 carries.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 5 things to know about Ken Dorsey, new Browns offensive coordinator