Browns fire OC Dorsey, OL coach after 1 season

BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns have fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and offensive line coach Andy Dickerson.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced the dismissals Sunday, less than 24 hours after Cleveland completed a disappointing season marred by injuries and ineffective play at quarterback. The last-place Browns lost 35-10 on Saturday to the Baltimore Ravens to finish 3-14 — their worst record since their winless 2017 season.

“I think the world of those two guys as people, as coaches,” Stefanski said. “But we’re going to go in a different direction. … This is something that we all own, we all share in.”

Dorsey and Dickerson lasted only one season in Cleveland, which enters Sunday ranked 28th in the NFL in total offense and 32nd in scoring.

Dorsey was the Buffalo Bills‘ offensive coordinator before being fired from that position in November 2023. He was hired by the Browns in February to work under the offensive-minded Stefanski and help oversee an offense built around injury-plagued quarterback Deshaun Watson.

But that vision never took off, as Watson posted the lowest Total QBR in the NFL and the Browns failed to reach 20 points in each of his seven starts.

Stefanski handed playcalling duties to Dorsey days after Watson suffered a season-ending right Achilles tendon tear on Oct. 20. With Jameis Winston inserted as the starter and Dorsey calling plays, the offense showed some improvement as the Browns upset the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.

But Winston was benched after throwing eight interceptions in a span of three games. Cleveland started 2023 fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson in Weeks 16 and 17, and Bailey Zappe, whom the team signed off the practice squad in October, started Saturday’s season finale.

Dickerson was brought in to replace longtime offensive line coach Bill Callahan, who left to take the same position with his son, Brian, who was named head coach of the Tennessee Titans last year. The Browns rank 28th in rushing yards per game and have given up 66 sacks this season; only the Chicago Bears have allowed more sacks (67).

Offensive linemen Joel Bitonio and Jack Conklin on Sunday both advocated for the Browns to return to the West Coast-based scheme that Stefanski ran in his first four seasons as head coach. In 2024, Cleveland increased its use of spread formations and run-pass options, which Watson was proficient in during his Pro Bowl seasons with the Houston Texans.

“I think that’s what coach Stefanski is comfortable with,” Bitonio said. “… I think it’s what we’ve had the most success with.”

Stefanski said the team’s search for his third offensive coordinator since 2020 will begin immediately and will include general manager Andrew Berry. According to a league source, tight ends coach and pass game specialist Tommy Rees is expected to receive consideration as an internal candidate.

Rees spent the 2023 season as the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama and, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, was considered the favorite to land the University of North Carolina football head coaching job if Bill Belichick was not hired. Rees also served as Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator from 2020 to 2022.

The Browns will have a top-three pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Watson, who has played in only 19 games since the Browns traded three first-rounders for him and gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract before the 2022 season, is still owed $46 million in each of the next two seasons. He is expected to return to Cleveland in some capacity, but the Browns are likely to bring in competition, whether it be in free agency or the draft.

When asked if he believes Watson is a starting-caliber quarterback he can win with, Stefanski answered, “The No. 1 thing for Deshaun, and I’ve talked to him about this, is he has to get healthy. He’s working hard toward that goal.”

Stefanski said he does not anticipate any other major staff changes.