After a rough season on offense, the Patriots made a move they hope will push things in a better direction when they hired Bill O’Brien as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach this week.
O’Brien was previously on the Patriots staff from 2007 to 2011 and he left in order to become the head coach at Penn State. He spent two years in that job and then moved on to be the head coach of the Texans for six-plus seasons before being fired. O’Brien spent the last two years as the offensive coordinator at Alabama and said in an interview with the team’s in-house media that he’s excited to bring those experiences with him to New England.
O’Brien said the chance to return to the Patriots was one he couldn’t pass up and said the chance to work with head coach Bill Belichick again was of particular interest.
“I’m looking forward to getting back and working with Bill, working for Bill, and doing what’s best for the team,” O’Brien said. “That’s what this place is all about.”
The Patriots put the offense in the hands of two returning coaches in 2022, but Matt Patricia and Joe Judge don’t have the experience that O’Brien brings to the table and the Patriots are betting that will make for a more successful reunion.