The New England Patriots hired Bill O’Brien last week to serve the roles of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Some Patriots fans were worried about O’Brien leaving for another job after a few seasons with the Patriots.
However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport believes that will not be the case.
He noted that the situation with O’Brien returning to New England looks to be a long-term hiring, unlike the coach’s previous one-year run as the team’s offensive coordinator back in 2011.
“For O’Brien, look, I know originally there was some concern maybe from Patriots world that he would come in, be the OC and then leave for a head coaching job,” said Rapoport. “I kind of don’t get that sense now. I kind of get the sense it’s much more of a long-term thing, and if that’s the case, even better for everyone involved.”
Here’s Ian’s quote
While I don’t doubt O’Brien will pursue another HC job in the future (he was a good coach, but apparently took on too much with player personnel), the hope is that he’s around long enough to help build a solid foundation for Mac pic.twitter.com/NdufBS84KD
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) January 30, 2023
O’Brien most recently served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Alabama in 2021-2022.
He left New England in January 2012 to take the Penn State head coaching job. From there, he spent the 2012-2013 seasons with the Nittany Lions, before taking the Houston Texans head coaching job in 2014. He was with Houston until the 2020 season, before taking the position with the Crimson Tide.
O’Brien is expected to have a lot more say in personnel decisions as well this time around. It will be intriguing to see who he surrounds himself with to help on offense, as the Patriots look to get back on track in 2023.
