Black Monday got shifted up a day with the Cleveland Browns playing on Saturday, not Sunday, in their final game of the season. This year's casualties: offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and offensive line coach Andy Dickerson. Both coaches were fired one day after the Browns officially ended their season with a record of 3-14.
With a few players having already expressed how 2024 was actually worse than their 0-16 season back in 2017, it was clear a change had to be made to their coaching staff headed into the offseason. Their offense, specifically, had sputtered all season long, and Dorsey and Dickerson had to be held liable for that.
With one of the worst offensive lines in the league, the Browns barely had a run game established one year after being one of the best teams at pounding the ground.
In addition to this, each quarterback that slotted in at starter for the Browns - of which there were four different ones this season - struggled in the pocket, with even Jameis Winston having expressed confusion over Dorsey's playbook compared to Kevin Stefanski's.
New OC and OL coach headed to Cleveland in 2025
With the firing of both Dorsey and Dickerson, the Browns are now not only in pursuit of another quarterback and a major draft haul, but also a new offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Dorsey, who had come over by way of the Buffalo Bills, was fired from that gig because of his failures with a far more potent offense led by Josh Allen.
As for Dickerson, he clearly never was able to establish a good enough O-line this season. In fact, it seems like Mike Vrable - who was just acting as an aide this season for the most part to the Browns coaching staff - established more trust with the line.
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Specifically, a story about his relationship with Dawand Jones prior to his season ending injury painted a picture of how little Dickerson's impact was on him and the rest of the line.
A reunion with Alex Van Pelt could be possible, as he's struggled with the New England Patriots as their OC this season. He was well liked amongst Browns players and coaches, so sliding him back into their system could work if there's no bad blood between the team and him.
As for an OL coach, there's sure to be a ton of movement around the league on that front given just how bad so many O-lines played this season. It'll be the most important position to fill, and it doesn't seem like Cleveland has a leg up right now given how poorly their season ended. They'll have to draft some true blue chip talent for the line to attract anyone decent to the job.