The Buffalo Bills have a big hole to fill on head coach Sean McDermott's staff.
With former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll having departed to become head coach of the New York Giants, the Bills need a replacement as the offensive play caller.
On Monday, during his end-of-season news conference, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said the Bills have requested an interview with Baltimore wide receivers coach Tee Martin for the opening.
Martin just finished his first season with the Ravens. Previously, he served as the assistant head coach and wide receivers coach at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee. Before that, he worked in various roles at the University of Southern California, the last three of which were as the Trojans' offensive coordinator. Martin won a 1998 national championship with the Volunteers before being a fifth-round draft pick of the Steelers in 2000. He played three seasons in the NFL.
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Martin is the first known candidate to interview with the Bills from outside the organization since Daboll took the Giants' job Friday.
"The rules are such that no matter what, you have to interview from the outside anyway for a coordinator position," Bills General Manager Brandon Beane said last week during his end-of-season news conference. "So we would follow all of those. We have a list of some guys."
As part of the league’s Rooney Rule, which exists to improve diversity in hiring, NFL teams with a vacancy at coordinator, head coach or general manager are required to interview at least two external, minority candidates. In addition to Martin, the Bills will need to complete at least one more interview with a minority candidate from outside the organization.
Here are nine more candidates for the job the Bills may consider:
Edgar Bennett. According to a report Monday from ESPN, Bennett will interview for the job. Bennett is the Las Vegas Raiders’ wide receivers coach, a job he’s held since 2018. Prior to his role with the Raiders, Bennett served as the Green Bay Packers’ offensive coordinator from 2015-17, and before that was the team’s running backs coach from 2005-10 and wide receivers coach from 2011-14. Although Bennett was the Packers’ offensive coordinator, head coach Mike McCarthy called the plays.
Ken Dorsey. If there’s a betting favorite, it’s Dorsey. The Bills’ current quarterbacks coach added the title of passing-game coordinator last offseason and is close with starter Josh Allen.
“I do know there's a guy in this building that I'm a huge advocate for,” Allen said last week at his end-of-season news conference. “I think when he got here three years ago, my career definitely changed in terms of how I viewed the game of football. … Just the way he approaches the game, he's competitive, he's smart. You know, he works his (butt) off. I appreciate what he's done for me over the course of my career so far.”
The Bills could have competition for Dorsey, as it’s been widely reported Daboll would like to add him to his staff with the Giants. Dorsey hasn’t called plays before in the NFL, but Allen’s recommendation alone is enough to make him the favorite.
Chad Hall. The Bills’ wide receivers coach has gotten big-time production out of his group over the last two seasons. He’s highly thought of in the locker room and has been with McDermott from the start, arriving as an offensive assistant in 2017-18 before taking over his current role in 2019. He’s also never called plays in the NFL.
Doug Pederson. If the Bills look outside the organization and want experience, Pederson offers plenty of that. He’s got a long history with McDermott, dating back to their time together on Andy Reid’s staff in Philadelphia in 2009-10. Pederson went on to be the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator under Reid before returning to Philadelphia as the Eagles’ head coach, leading the franchise to a Super Bowl championship. Pederson was out of football in 2021. He has interviewed for some of the vacant head-coaching jobs around the league in the past month, but if he falls short in that pursuit, working with a quarterback like Allen has obvious appeal.
Mike Shula. He most recently spent two seasons as the Broncos’ quarterbacks coach, but Shula also has a long history with McDermott. From 2013-17, he served as Carolina’s offensive coordinator. During that time, McDermott was the Panthers’ defensive coordinator. Quarterback Cam Newton won an MVP during Shula’s time as coordinator, and the Panthers advanced to the Super Bowl. Dorsey worked under Shula as Carolina’s quarterbacks coach, setting up the possibility of the roles being reversed in Buffalo.
Pat Shurmur. Another coach with ties to McDermott, Shurmur worked for the Eagles from 2001-08 under Reid, coaching quarterbacks. He’s gone on to be the head coach for both the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, and has worked as the offensive coordinator for the Rams, Vikings and Broncos. He won the 2017 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award for his work as Minnesota’s offensive coordinator, and has plenty of experience calling plays.
Pep Hamilton. He called the plays for Indianapolis from 2013-15 and most recently worked as the quarterbacks coach for the Texans.
Rob Boras. Another in-house candidate, Boras is the Bills’ tight ends coach. An editing error on the Bills’ website incorrectly listed him as the offensive coordinator recently, briefly setting social media ablaze. Boras was the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2016 before joining the Bills in his current role.
Joe Brady. Fortunes change quickly in the NFL. It wasn't that long ago Brady was looked at as a big get by the Carolina Panthers after his work at the collegiate level with LSU. Less than two full years into the job, however, he was fired in December as the Panthers' offensive coordinator. Reportedly, Brady didn't want to run the ball enough -- which might fit right in with the desire of Bills fans. Given his lack of ties to McDermott, this would be a surprising hire, but the idea shouldn't totally be discounted.
