Should the Carolina Panthers consider Ken Dorsey as head coach?

Carolina Panthers need a home-run hire in 2023

Currently filling the offensive coordinator shoes left vacant by Brian Daboll when he became New York Giants head coach, Ken Dorsey looks set to reach that peak sooner rather than later.

However, hiring Dorsey is not without risk.

The Buffalo Bills are experiencing struggles in key situational aspects of the game, faltering too often on third-down conversion attempts. Late-game situations aren’t their strongest points, either.

Josh Allen statistically has regressed and looks overwhelmed more than we’ve seen early in his young career. Maybe you can place some of that blame at Dorsey’s feet.

Dorsey has zero experience as an NFL head coach. Sure, he’s respected and highly thought of, but it’s a case of learning on the fly. That might be enough to scare David Tepper away from him thanks to the failed Matt Rhule experiment.

It has been reported that Tepper has considerable interest in appointing someone with previous NFL head coaching experience. But Sean McVay didn’t have any and that worked out relatively well for the Los Angeles Rams.

Nick Sirianni looks like the clear front-runner for NFL Coach of the Year, and he only had two years of experience at the coordinator level prior to the Philadelphia Eagles taking a chance. He also gave up the offensive play calling after a tumultuous opening in 2021, proving that he was more than just a one-trick pony.

One could make the case for Dorsey and his intangibles having the same effect. Even if he ultimately secedes calling the shots to focus on leading all areas of the team.

After seeing Dorsey’s reaction to his Buffalo Bills falling to the divisional rival Miami Dolphins on the final drive of the game, nobody would say he’s without passion. Whether that’s enough for the Carolina Panthers is another matter.

Fans can only hope that Tepper and the rest of his brain trust behind the process will consider all possibilities with long-term objectives and sustainable winning as the true goals. But it would be incredibly harsh on Steve Wilks given his level of impact this season.