For good cause, Bill O’Brien’s time as the Ohio State Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator was brief.
Boston College announced on Friday that O’Brien had completed his contract to become their next head coach.Earlier on Friday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel first claimed that the parties were “working toward a deal”.
In mid-January, O’Brien was appointed offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes by head coach Ryan Day; however, it now looks as though he will succeed Jeff Hafley as head coach of Chestnut Hill.
Hafley left Boston College towards the end of the previous month to take a job as the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator. In 2020, he took over as head coach of the Eagles, and throughout his four seasons, the team finished with a 22-26 record.Boston College had a 7-6 record at the end of the 2023 season, which included a Fenway Bowl victory over SMU.
With his connections to the area, O’Brien being the Eagles’ new head coach makes perfect sense. He was raised in Massachusetts, was born in Boston, and worked as an assistant with the New England Patriots for a number of seasons.
The 54-year-old’s first assignment with New England was as an offensive assistant back in 2007. He served as the team’s wide receivers coach in 2008, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2011, and quarterbacks coach from 2009 to 2010.After Josh McDaniels left the team in 2023, O’Brien rejoined the Patriots as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. However, his offense was among the worst in the NFL, in part because of a struggling Mac Jones.
O’Brien has now served as a college head coach twice, having accepted the position at Boston College. In his last role as head coach at Penn State, he oversaw a 15-9 record during his tenure in 2012–2013.
O’Brien probably won’t be under as much pressure as the head coach of the Eagles, who have had difficulty competing in the ACC against teams like Florida State and Clemson.Despite Ohio State’s 11-2 season finale in 2023, O’Brien would have been scrutinized at Ohio State as pressure on Day and his staff keeps growing. After losing to Michigan, the Buckeyes were eliminated from the Big Ten title game for the third consecutive year, and they were also denied a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reports that Ohio State has focused on UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who is anticipated to be appointed as O’Brien’s replacement, following O’Brien’s departure from the program after less than one month on the staff.
