Patriots hire new offensive coordinator

Oct 10, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick reacts during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots have found a new offensive coordinator, and the hire is one that many saw coming for quite some time.

Bill O’Brien has agreed to a deal to return to the Patriots, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

O’Brien has spent the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator under Nick Saban at Alabama. He never officially coached Mac Jones there, but there was some overlap between when O’Brien arrived in Tuscaloosa and Jones left for the NFL. The two have worked together, which is another reason O’Brien was viewed as such a logical fit for the Patriots.

There were rumors last offseason that Bill Belichick could reunite with O’Brien. Instead, the Patriots coach decided to bring back former assistants Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. Belichick entrusted his offense to Patricia, who was a defensive assistant in his first stint with New England. The results were disastrous and the Patriots had one of the worst offenses in the NFL in 2022.

O’Brien was a coach on Belichick’s staff from 2007-2011. He was the team’s offensive coordinator in 2011 before he left to take the head coach job at Penn State.

Belichick may have wanted to bring O’Brien back, but it does not sound like he had much of a choice anyway.