Former New England Patriots offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien speaks to the media in Foxboro, MA Apr. 18, 2023. O’Brien has been hired for the same position at Ohio State. Credit: Matt Stone | Boston Herald (via TNS)
The Buckeyes have a new playcaller in town.
Former NFL head coach Bill O’Brien will be the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the 2024-25 football season, according to a release from the Ohio State athletic department Friday.
“I am extremely pleased to be able to add Bill O’Brien to our coaching staff,” head coach Ryan Day said. “He brings with him a wealth of knowledge – and a tremendous amount of success – at both the NFL and collegiate levels. He is an excellent and experienced offensive coach who has run NFL and Power 5 programs and developed some truly elite players throughout his career. He’ll be an excellent teacher and recruiter for us, and he absolutely strengthens our staff.”
The news, first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Thursday, said the Buckeyes were set to hire the longtime head coach, who’s been on the football scenes since 2001, bouncing back and forth from the pros to the collegiate level.
O’Brien is most notably known for his time as a head coach for the Houston Texans, offensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide and most recently the New England Patriots.
Now, O’Brien — who coached Penn State back in 2012 — has landed back on the Big Ten block, this time with Ohio State.
The hiring signifies a significant change made to the Buckeyes’ coaching staff.
Day has held the offensive coordinator title since his tenure began at Ohio State in 2017 and elected to keep the duties once elevated to head coach two years later.
This all changed this past year when Day announced wide receiver coach Brian Hartline as the offensive coordinator back in January.
Despite the new title, Day never fully gave up play-calling duties but often sought Hartline’s input during the team preparation and on game days. With the hiring of O’Brien, Day will relinquish a role he’s coached dating back to his time at Temple a decade ago.
According to the release, Hartline will share tasks with O’Brien as the co-offensive coordinator, and the former Texan’s coach will take over in another department.
O’Brien was also named the quarterback’s coach, a position that Corey Dennis held last season. The role of Dennis, whose contract expires on Jan. 31, is “still to be determined” with the program.
O’Brien has ample experience in developing quarterbacks, most notably Alabama’s 2021 Heisman winner Bryce Young, New England legend Tom Brady and former Texan now Cleveland Brown Deshaun Watson.
A seven-year stint for O’Brien as the Texans coach came to an end after an 0-4 record to start the 2020-21 season, leading him to head back to Alabama. During his two years there, the Crimson Tide finished top 10 in scoring offense, averaging more than 470 yards per game.
However, the results didn’t nearly replicate the same in O’Brien’s last job. New England totaled just 13.9 points per game, tying the Carolina Panthers with the lowest average in the league.
O’Brien will now look to lift a Buckeyes squad that dropped a staggering 14 points per game, dipping to 30.5 points per game after putting up 44.2 the year prior.
With the return of much of the offense and an active transfer portal, picking up senior quarterback Will Howard and sophomore running back Quinshon Judkins, O’Brien and the Buckeyes look like a force to be reckoned with.
