Another veteran coach is leaving the Patriots.
According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien is leaving the team to become the new offensive coordinator at The Ohio State University.
The writing was on the wall for O’Brien to leave the team, as reported by the Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi earlier in the week.
“The sense I get about the offensive coordinator spot is that a new voice will be running the show,” Giardi wrote. “Bill O’Brien has a year remaining on his deal (Greg Bedard hears two years) and has enjoyed being back home, but he is considered a Belichick loyalist and may want to move on with the man.
O’Brien, 54, joined the Patriots last off-season, marking his second stint with them. The veteran coach has had various titles within the organization, including quarterbacks coach, wide receivers coach, and offensive assistant. It’s safe to say the first stint as a Patriots offensive coordinator went smoother than last season. In 2011 – O’Brien’s first time as the Patriots’ OC – the Patriots finished 13-3 and recorded 32.1 points per game, third in the league.
Nonetheless, last season, O’Brien led an offense that was disastrous from start to finish, and the unit finished in the bottom five in the league in points per game (13.9) and turnover differential (11).
After leaving the Patriots in 2011, he accepted a head coaching job at Penn State, taking over for Joe Paterno. In two years, he totaled a 15-9 record with the Nittany Lions. He repositioned back to the NFL and, in 2014, became the head coach of the Texans. However, after seven seasons, he was fired after a 0-4 start in 2020. He finished his stint in Houston, tallying a 52-38 regular season record and a 2-4 playoff record.
After the Texans, he went back to College, where he joined Nick Saban and the Alabama coaching staff. But after lackluster production from the 2022 Patriots’ offense, Bill Belichick decided to give O’Brien a call, which landed him back with the Patriots.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo will now search for a new offensive coordinator for the 2024 season. It will be the fourth straight season the Patriots will have a new offensive coordinator.
My name is Ben Belford-Peltzman and I am the creator and writer of The Patriots Beat. I am a 17-year kid who is an optimistic pessimist about the City of Champions. I started The Patriots Beat in August of 2022 and never expected to grow so much but here we are. Feel free to email Thepatriotsbeat@gmail.com with any inquires.
