Panthers request permission to interview Dorsey for head coach

Dorsey is in his first season as a NFL play-caller

The Carolina Panthers have requested permission to interview Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey for their vacant head coaching position, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Dorsey, 41, is in his first season as a NFL play-caller after succeeding Brian Daboll as the Bills’ offensive coordinator following Daboll’s departure to coach the New York Giants. In his first season at the helm, Dorsey has helped to guide a Bills offense that ranks second in the league in yards per game, seventh in passing yards per game, seventh in rushing yards per game, and second in points per game.

The Bills elected to replace Daboll with Dorsey in part on the recommendation of quarterback Josh Allen. Dorsey and Allen have worked together since the 2019 season, when Dorsey replaced David Culley as the Bills’ quarterbacks coach after seven seasons as a scouting and coaching assistant with the Panthers.

Widely considered a young coach on the rise, it is conceivably those pre-existing connections with the Panthers organization that have him on their radar for the head coaching vacancy. The Panthers have also reportedly sought permission to interview several other coaching candidates, including veteran head coaches Jim Caldwell and Frank Reich, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, and their own interim head coach, Steve Wilks.