NFL rumors: Browns make a head-scratching OC choice to resurrect Deshaun Watson experiment
By Josh Wilson
From the start, most tuned-in NFL minds could tell you that the Deshaun Watson and Cleveland Browns connection was wrought with potential consequences. Putting aside the plenty of non-football reasons to dislike the trade and subsequent guaranteed contract the Browns doled out to him, Watson has started just 12 games for the Browns over the last two seasons, an 8-4 record overall.
To no surprise, his lack of availability has made it difficult for him to be playoff presence, with him not having suited up even once for Cleveland in a high-stakes postseason game.
Cleveland parted ways with its offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt at the end of the 2024 season. Whoever comes in next will have their work cut out for them with a clearly talented and high-potential quarterback, but one that has something to prove, needing to show he was worth the guaranteed money he got from Cleveland.
They have their new OC in tow who will be crucial in setting Watson up well to accomplish just that.
Browns make a failed OC their hire to help Watson get back on track
The Browns have reportedly hired Ken Dorsey as their next offensive coordinator, as first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Ken Dorsey did not last long as the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator. While a change of scenery can do wonders, and Dorsey may not have gotten a very long leash given the pressure Buffalo had to excel, it's a troublesome choice for Cleveland to have hired him.
Dorsey, a former quarterbacks coach, will likely be a good personality in the building for Watson, but it's hard to say if he'll be able to design and implement an offense that gets Watson back to the Pro Bowl level he was once at. In Buffalo, Dorsey was too locked into the passing game and frequently failed to weaponize his backs in such a way that it set quarterback Josh Allen up for success.
It displays another crucial talking point about the Browns, though: Do the premier offensive coordinator hires actually want to work in Cleveland? Or is this job a grenade waiting to explode?
Dorsey needs to prove himself once more. So does Watson. Maybe sheer need to get back on track for both produces good results here. It hardly feels like a sure-fire solution to any of the problems that have kept the Browns back the last two years.
As someone who really wanted Dorsey to work out moving up through the ranks in Buffalo, I sure hope to be wrong here. But for both sides, it sure feels like there might have been a better mix of circumstances available.
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