New England Patriots Officially Hire Bill O’Brien As Offensive Coordinator And Quarterbacks Coach

A dozen years later, Bill O’Brien has officially returned to the New England Patriots under the same title as before.

The organization announced the hiring of the 53-year-old on Thursday as its next offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

O’Brien previously served as both the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for New England during the Super Bowl XLVI run of 2011, following two seasons as quarterbacks coach and one season as wide receivers coach.

A native of Andover, Mass., the St. John’s Prep and Brown University alum originally entered the NFL ranks as an offensive assistant with the organization in 2007. He did so after more than a decade in the Atlantic Coast Conference between stints at Duke, Maryland and Georgia Tech.

The Patriots finished 2022 outside of the AFC wild card with an 8-9 record. As longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels departed to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach last January, senior football advisor and offensive line coach Matt Patricia moved forward as the primary play-caller while working in tandem with offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach Joe Judge.

That side of the ball would rank 27th in third-down efficiency and 32nd in red-zone efficiency by year’s end.

The number of sacks allowed climbed from 28 to 41. The number of touchdowns scored declined from 48 to 31. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers accounted for 2,254 out of 5,627 scrimmage yards on 348 combined touches. And starting quarterback Mac Jones, who went from the No. 15 overall pick to a Pro Bowl alternate as a rookie, took a step back in his development as a passer with 14 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and 214.1 yards per game.

In steps overlap. O’Brien spent the past two campaigns at the sophomore captain’s alma mater, Alabama, as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young.

Prior to his Crimson Tide tenure under seven-time national champion Nick Saban, O’Brien went 15-9 as the head coach at Penn State before going 52-48 with four playoff appearances as the head coach of the Houston Texans. The former Big Ten Coach of the Year and Maxwell Coach of the Year was fired by Houston in October 2020, amid an 0-4 start in his second season as general manager.

O’Brien was one of five candidates interviewed for the vacancy after New England confirmed the start of an OC search earlier this month. The club also reportedly spoke with incumbent tight ends coach Nick Caley, Minnesota Vikings receivers coach Keenan McCardell, Arizona Cardinals associate head coach and receivers coach Shawn Jefferson, as well as Oregon associate head coach, run-game coordinator and O-line coach Adrian Klemm.

Either as a past assistant or past player, each offered a level of familiarity.

“I am looking forward to working with Bill again,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said in a statement released Thursday. “He is an outstanding coach and an asset to our staff.”

As part of a West roster overseen by members of New England’s staff, O’Brien will take on a supervisory role at next week’s East-West Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas.