Maybe more notable is the message sent by the man who made such a hire.
Alabama, Ohio State & Georgia in Joel Klatt’s way too early top five teams | Joel Klatt Show
One thing about college football has become quite evident after just three weeks of the new year: Ohio State is clearly all-in for 2024.
To be honest, regardless of the year, that remark usually holds true.
After all, throughout the previous few decades, the Buckeyes have been a continuous threat to win the national championship and the only team in the sport to continually avoid uncharacteristic performances or any kind of downward trend. Regardless of the historical period you’re revisiting, OSU has begun almost every football season with the players available in Columbus and the head coach in charge, making it possibly the program’s most distinctive feature.
On Thursday night, when a source told FOX Sports that Bill O’Brien, the most recent offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, would be joining Ohio State as the team’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, that reality felt evident once more.
Head coach Ryan Day made a daring move with this one, capping a summer full of reinventions at the Woody Hayes Center, most of which have only helped to solidify the Buckeyes’ ranking in the top five of the early 2024 polls before of a crucial season.
O’Brien’s most recent employment in Foxborough under now-former head coach Bill Belichick did not end well in 2023, which may have influenced the initial, tame response to the hire. Nevertheless, the veteran coach has a track record of success as an offensive coordinator and quarterback developer at both the professional and collegiate levels.
Just two years ago, he called plays for the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, helping Bryce Young win the Heisman Trophy and placing the team in the top 10 in scoring offense both seasons. He was there for several of Tom Brady’s best statistical seasons with the Patriots before that, and the Houston Texans were a constant playoff threat under his leadership. When you consider that O’Brien led a Penn State program in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and did a masterful job with a difficult circumstance, there is reason to be concerned about his next career move, which was to Ohio State.
