Bill O’Brien to become next head coach at Boston College: report

Ohio State offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien appears to have found his next gig. 

O’Brien will be the next head coach at Boston College, according to The Associated Press. The school is still working to finalize the hire, per the AP.

New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium Dec. 31, 2023, in Orchard Park, N.Y.  (Rich Barnes/Getty Images)

O’Brien was named the Ohio State offensive coordinator just last month but interviewed with Boston College in person Thursday, per ESPN. 

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The move will bring O’Brien back to Massachusetts after he spent the past year in Foxborough as the offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots. 

The job at Boston College became available last week when Jeff Hafley left to become the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers. 

“I loved my four years at Boston College,” Hafley said in a statement released by the school. “This is an exceptional place to coach given the caliber of student-athletes we recruit, the facilities and the support from the university and BC fans. I will miss the players who gave so much of themselves these past four years, and my wife Gina and I will certainly miss the BC community and the many friends we have made here.”

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Head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes during warmups before a game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium Nov. 25, 2023, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said he had contingency plans if O’Brien took the job at BC. 

“It isn’t just one of those situations where you take out one guy and put another guy in there and move on,” Day said of the possibility of O’Brien leaving, according to ESPN. “It doesn’t work that way. But, yes, we talked to different people for that position, and we have contingency plans in place. Hopefully, we don’t have to go down that road, though.”

The Boston College job will be O’Brien’s third head coaching job after he coached Penn State from 2012-2013 and the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020. 

He went 15-9 at Penn State and was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2012. With the Texans, O’Brien led Houston to four playoff appearances and went 52-48. 

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New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien during a game against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium Oct. 22, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass.  (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

He will return to the college game after serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Nick Saban at Alabama. O’Brien’s offenses finished in the top 10 in scoring in each of his two seasons at Alabama. 

Boston College has not been relevant over the past 16 years, failing to win double-digit games in a season since 2007. 

Under Hafley, the Eagles went 22-26 and finished the 2023 season 7-6. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report