The New England Patriots have jumped head-first into the interview process for their vacant offensive coordinator position, and a recent report from NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran suggests the search isn’t expected to take long.
Bill O’Brien is still perceived to be the top candidate for the job, but unfortunately for the Patriots, they may not be the only football team in the market for his services.
“It is fascinating, too, when you look at the openings around the league, and not just offensive coordinator and wonder if they could be enticing to Bill O’Brien, whether it be the [Los Angeles] Chargers or Carolina [Panthers]. But there’s also head coaching jobs,” Curran said, when appearing on WEEI’s Arcand & Mego. “So that’s why I think the Patriots are trying to work on a quick timetable here. From my understanding, the conversations I had last week were the idea and the aim was to have it done quickly.
“So I’m watching that, too, as this week comes to a close and how many interviews they’re doing. Are they trying to get it done quickly so that they can make sure that Bill O’Brien is off the market as other jobs open up and other phones start to ring.”
It’s hard envisioning O’Brien turning down a possible head coaching opportunity to come back to New England and work under Belichick. He might be the Patriots’ top option, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be his top option.
So it makes a lot of sense for the team to work towards a deal as quickly as possible to prevent other teams from jumping into the equation. O’Brien interviewed on Thursday, and the Patriots could be finishing up their search with the Shawn Jefferson interview, which is slated for Friday.
It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that the team could be days away from making a decision.
Not locking down O’Brien could make things interesting for a Patriots team that might have to think outside of the box a bit to find the right fit for the job.
