ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - The Buffalo Bills hired Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator Sunday.
Coach Sean McDermott announced Daboll’s hiring two days after firing Rick Dennison.
The 42-year-old Daboll was the offensive coordinator for national champion Alabama. It was the sixth time he was part of the coaching staff for a national championship team.
Prior to last season, Daboll was the tight end’s coach for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. He has 17 seasons of coaching experience in the NFL, including stints as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2009-10), Miami Dolphins (2011) and Kansas City Chiefs (2012).
Daboll has previous ties to McDermott, as he was a restricted-earnings coach at William & Mary when McDermott was a senior safety in 1997. Daboll also has western New York roots, having graduated from St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, a few miles away from the Bills’ facility.
“We are excited to hire Brian as our offensive coordinator and welcome him back to western New York,” McDermott said in a statement posted to the team’s website. “I know how much this area means to him. He is a good coach and a good teacher and has been part of winning programs in the NFL and in college.”
Daboll will be the Bills’ fifth offensive coordinator in six seasons.
The Bills finished 29th in offense this past season and their running attack fell to sixth after leading the league the past two seasons. Dennison’s play-calling was questioned after Buffalo scored just three points against Jacksonville in the franchise’s first playoff game in 18 years.
Daboll coordinated an Alabama offense that ranked 15th in the nation in scoring at 37.1 points per game and 13th in rushing. The Crimson Tide overcame a 10-point deficit to win the national championship game in overtime after freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was inserted into the game at halftime.
As a Patriots assistant from 2000-06 and 2013-16, Daboll won five Super Bowl rings.
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