Alabama football offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien hired by New England Patriots
Alabama football needs a new offensive coordinator.
Bill O'Brien, who joined the Crimson Tide ahead of the 2021 season, will be the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday. ESPN was the first to report the move. Then Wednesday, O'Brien was listed on the Patriots' staff for the East-West Shrine Bowl.
O'Brien's contract with UA was set to expire at the end of February.
O'Brien, a Massachusetts native, returns to the Patriots for whom he served as an assistant coach from 2007-2010 and offensive coordinator in 2011. Now, he will have a chance to work with former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones in New England.
During his time in Tuscaloosa, O'Brien also served as quarterbacks coach. Under his instruction, quarterback Bryce Young won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore in 2021.
O'Brien has been a popular lightning rod for criticism from fans for his play-calling, though. The noise grew even louder in his second season. The offense struggled at times in 2022 to be consistent and create big plays, but it still managed to be a top-10 scoring offense. It finished the regular season tied for the No. 4 scoring offense in the country, averaging 40.8 points per game.
In O'Brien's first season as the play-caller, the Crimson Tide averaged 39.9 points per game, which ranked sixth among FBS teams. Alabama earned 488.3 yards per game, which ranked eighth nationally. The Crimson Tide reached the College Football Playoff Championship, where it fell to Georgia.
After a loss to LSU in November, Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked to assess the job O'Brien had done with the offense.
"I’m not going to analyze somebody publicly, good, bad or indifferent," Saban said. "We’re all working hard together. We’re all responsible for what we do. Do we need to play better on both sides of the ball? Absolutely."
O'Brien joined the Crimson Tide after the Houston Texans fired him in October 2020. He had served as general manager and coach of the franchise for whom he finished with a 52-48 record. He was hired by the Texans in 2014.
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O'Brien reportedly was in contention for other jobs at the end of the 2021 season, but he stayed in Tuscaloosa for another season.
“I made a commitment to Coach Saban," O'Brien said at the beginning of 2022 preseason practices. "Those things come up relative to what your role is in different programs, where you’ve been. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve had various roles in coaching, so obviously, those things come up. But I made a commitment to Coach Saban. I love coaching here. The players, the coaching staff, it’s been – like I said in the opening statement here – it’s been a really good experience. I’ve learned a lot. I’m very appreciative of Coach for giving me this opportunity.”
Prior to his time in Houston, O'Brien coached Penn State. He was the first coach of the Nittany Lions after Joe Paterno. For his efforts in State College, O'Brien won Big Ten coach of the year, ESPN national coach of the year, and Paul "Bear" Bryant college coach of the year in 2012. He finished 8-4 that year, fresh off the fallout of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. No coach had more wins in his first year at Penn State than O'Brien.
In the college ranks, he also made stops at Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech and Brown, where he played in college.
Over the course of his coaching career, O'Brien has had the opportunity to work for two of the greatest football coaches of all time in Saban and Bill Belichick.
"I respect the hell out of both of them," O'Brien said in December 2021, "and I am grateful for the opportunity that I've had."
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football's Bill O'Brien hired by NFL's Patriots
