The New England Patriots hired their new offensive coordinator as the NFL world woke up on Tuesday.
The Patriots hired Bill O’Brien to be the team’s new offensive coordinator. O’Brien returns to the Patriots 11 years after he departed to take the Penn State head coaching job. He spent the last two seasons as offensive coordinator under Nick Saban at Alabama.
The Patriots themselves announced the hire on Twitter. “Report: Patriots to reunite with Bill O’Brien as new offensive coordinator,” the team tweeted.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport provided additional details. Rapoport tweeted, “Bill O’Brien was back in the building yesterday for a second interview and now joins the staff, formalizing long-held plans.” So on Monday, New England interviewed O’Brien. And now on Tuesday, New England hired him.
O’Brien’s stock is hard to gauge. On the one hand, it’s true that his offenses at Alabama were pretty good. But with how much talent the Crimson Tide routinely stock up in Tuscaloosa, that could have had a significant influence.
His time with the Houston Texans is still fresh in the minds of NFL fans too. He went 52-48 as their coach for six full seasons. The Texans fired him four games into the 2020 season after an 0-4 start.
New England’s offense hopes to be rejuvenated. They averaged 5.3 yards/play in 2022, tied for 17th in the NFL with Carolina, Chicago, Cleveland, and the LA Chargers. Mac Jones struggled to get it going but the hope is O’Brien, who has worked with great quarterbacks before, can reform him into a good quarterback.
Reactions from the NFL world trickled out after the hiring announcement.
Now that Bill O’Brien is back, let the speculation begin that Tom Brady might return as well. Brady loves OB and reportedly wants to play again under his coaching.
Will we get another classic moment like this one?pic.twitter.com/rJm5iESPD8
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 24, 2023