Ohio State has hired former NFL coach Bill O’Brien as the Buckeyes’ new offensive coordinator, the school announced last Friday.

The move came with a potential shift within the Ohio State program, as coach Ryan Day has spent part of this offseason exploring bringing in an experienced coordinator who would allow him to give up playcalling duties, according to sources.

O’Brien served as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator in 2023 and has extensive experience as a playcaller and developer of quarterbacks at the college and NFL levels.

“[O’Brien] brings with him a wealth of knowledge — and a tremendous amount of success — at both the NFL and collegiate levels,” Day said in a statement. “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.”

Ohio State is gaining an offensive coordinator in O’Brien who previously worked with Brady, Deshaun Watson, and Bryan Young at Alabama during some of their greatest seasons. Under O’Brien’s coaching, Young won the Heisman Trophy in 2021, and Alabama’s scoring offense, which averaged 39.9 and 41.1 points per game, placed them in the top 10 in both of his seasons as coordinator. This season, Ohio State’s offensive has decreased to 30.5 points per game from 44.2 the previous campaign.

Over his seven years (2014–20) as an NFL head coach, O’Brien guided the Houston Texans to five winning seasons and four postseason appearances. In 2020, he had a 0–4 start and was let go after 52–48 games.

O’Brien has head coaching experience in the Big Ten as well. He took over for Joe Paterno at Penn State in 2012 and finished 15-9 in two seasons. The most memorable thing about his tenure there is that he helped Penn State deal with the aftermath of Jerry Sandusky’s misdeeds by acting as a reliable recruiter.

In 2010, when O’Brien was coaching the quarterbacks, Brady was named the NFL MVP. The next season, O’Brien was designated as the offensive coordinator since New England failed to specify an offensive playcaller for that campaign.

 

Day has made major program changes in the wake of three straight defeats to Michigan and a two-game losing streak to close out the 2023 season. Perry Eliano, the assistant coach for safety, and Parker Fleming, the coach for special teams, were not rehired by Ohio State.

Following the conclusion of the Ohio State season, a number of draft-eligible players have returned for a second season, and the school’s collective appears ready to make a big investment as evidenced by the high-profile signings made through the transfer portal.

TreVeyon Henderson, a tailback, standout wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, and guard Donovan Jackson are among the offensive players that are back for a fourth season. All were thought to be guys who would seriously contemplate the NFL going into the previous season.

Two-time All-SEC tailback Quinshon Judkins transferred from Ole Miss, while former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard joined the Buckeyes for his final year of eligibility through the transfer portal.

Additionally, Ohio State updated the site with Alabama center Seth McLaughlin.

O’Brien began working at Brown in 1993 and is a 1993 graduate. Prior to becoming an offensive assistant on the Patriots staff in 2007, he held positions at Georgia Tech, Duke, and Maryland.