Bills hire Daboll as offensive coordinator

The Buffalo Bills hired former Alabama offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to fill that same role, the team announced Sunday. Daboll, who spent one season with the national champion Crimson Tide, replaces Rick Dennison, whom the Bills fired last week after one season. "We are excited to hire Brian as our offensive coordinator and welcome him back to Western New York," Bills coach Sean McDermott said in a statement. "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 was a restricted-earnings coach for William & Mary in 1997 when McDermott played there. Daboll attended St. Francis High School in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg, N.Y., and played football at the University of Rochester. He owns a home in the Buffalo area. This will be Daboll's fourth stint as an offensive coordinator in the NFL. He previously was the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns (2009-10), Miami Dolphins (2011) and Kansas City Chiefs (2012). He had two stints as an assistant coach for the New England Patriots. Daboll's one season at Alabama ended with the Crimson Tide winning the College Football Playoff national championship. "Brian did a tremendous job for us this past season at Alabama, and I know he will do a great job for the Buffalo Bills," Alabama coach Nick Saban said in a statement. "He is an outstanding coach and coordinator who put us in position to be successful each week. "We appreciate all that he did in terms of his time and his dedication in contributing to the success we had this season. We wish Brian, his wife Beth, and their entire family all the best." Daboll is taking over a Bills offense that finished 29th in average yards per game (302.6) and was tied for 24th in offensive points scored (17.6) this season. Buffalo finished with a 9-7 record and lost 10-3 in an AFC wild-card game to the Jacksonville Jaguars.