Invoice O’Brien brings appreciable familiarity with Jerod Mayo, having coached alongside him in 2023 and being on Patriots staffs when the Invoice Belichick successor was in place as a linebacker. However the two is not going to work collectively in 2024.
Ohio State will herald O’Brien as its offensive coordinator, ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel stories. Wrapping O’Brien’s second Patriots OC stint at one season, it will deliver the 54-year-old assistant again to the school ranks and the Massive Ten. O’Brien coached at Penn State earlier than turning into the Texans’ HC and was Alabama’s OC between his Houston firing and most up-to-date New England journey.
Robert Kraft helped deliver O’Brien again to Foxborough final yr, placing an finish to Belichick’s weird Matt Patricia experiment. Patricia spent the 2022 season because the Pats’ major play-caller, and whereas that effort puzzled most and led to Mac Jones‘ freefall starting, Belichick needed to maintain Patricia for a second season within the function. Upon being rehired, O’Brien needed to wash home alongside the offensive workers; Belichick overruled him. The Patriots couldn’t bounce again on offense this previous season, serving to result in Belichick’s exit.
The Pats plummeted from seventeenth in scoring in 2022 to thirty first this season, finally benching Jones and shutting out the season with Bailey Zappe on the controls. Zappe is believed to have struggled in O’Brien’s offense in coaching camp, resulting in the Pats waiving the 2022 fourth-round decide. Zappe returned and started the season backing up Jones. Not a lot ended up working for the group in O’Brien’s second tenure, offering a stark distinction from his first run — one which clearly featured higher elements.
O’Brien’s preliminary Pats stint got here from 2007-11; Tom Brady performed quarterback in 4 of these seasons, taking place with a torn ACL in 2008. O’Brien moved to the OC function in 2011, the Pats’ solely Brady-era Tremendous Bowl season that didn’t characteristic a top-10 scoring protection, and used the season as a platform to develop into Joe Paterno’s successor at Penn State. O’Brien returned to the NFL in 2014, touchdown the Texans’ HC job. That keep ended memorably, because the O’Brien HC/GM stint produced some criticized choices, but it surely additionally included Houston venturing to 4 playoff brackets within the HC’s seven seasons.
Ohio State HC Ryan Day has been inspecting an answer on offense, Thamel provides, and is contemplating giving up play-calling duties. O’Brien, who known as performs at Alabama from 2021-22, would step in ought to Day certainly step again. The Buckeyes haven’t overwhelmed Michigan since 2019, however the group may have NFL prospects Emeka Egbuka and TreVeyon Henderson again after the broad receiver and working again respectively opted to not enter the draft this yr.
It will formally open the OC place to start out Mayo’s tenure. Mayo shall be in place to guide on protection, however the Patriots will want a brand new offensive play-caller forward of a season which will properly characteristic one other first-round decide being spent on a quarterback. New England holds the No. 3 total decide, and its QB want factors to sturdy consideration being given to addressing that prime deficiency early.
