Pete Thamel, ESPN January 18, 2024, 9:35 p.m. ET
Ohio State will hire former NFL head coach Bill O'Brien as the school's new offensive coordinator, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
The move comes with a possible shift within the OSU program, as coach Ryan Day has spent part of this offseason exploring the hiring of a veteran coordinator that would allow him to step away from his game-calling duties, according to sources.
O'Brien served as the Patriots' offensive coordinator in 2023 and has extensive experience as an offensive coordinator, playcaller and quarterback developer at both the college and NFL levels.
With O'Brien, Ohio State gets an offensive line coach who has worked with Bryce Young (Alabama), Tom Brady and Deshaun Watson in some of their best seasons. Young won the 2021 Heisman Trophy under O'Brien, and Alabama finished in the top 10 in offense in both of O'Brien's seasons as coordinator, averaging 39.9 and 41.1 points per game. Ohio State's offense dropped to 30.5 points per game this season, compared to 44.2 last year.
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In O'Brien's seven years (2014-2020) as an NFL head coach, he reached the playoffs four times and led the Texans to a winning record five times. He was fired after an 0-4 start in 2020 and finished his tenure there at 52-48.
O'Brien also brings experience as a head coach in the Big Ten. He took over for Joe Paterno at Penn State in 2012 and went 15-9 in two seasons. His time there is best known for being a strong recruiter and stabilizing his presence while Penn State dealt with the fallout from Jerry Sandusky's crimes.
Brady won NFL MVP honors in 2010 with O'Brien as quarterbacks coach. (New England did not list an offensive playcaller that year, and O'Brien was officially the offensive coordinator the following year.)
After three straight losses to Michigan and a two-game losing streak to end the 2023 season, Day has made significant changes to the program. Ohio State has decided not to bring back two assistant coaches – safeties coach Perry Eliano and special teams coach Parker Fleming.
Since the end of Ohio State's season, the program has received a flood of draft-eligible players who have returned for another season and some high-profile additions through the transfer portal, indicating that the school's collective appears ready to make significant investments to do.
Offensively, those players include star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who is returning for a fourth season, tailback TreVeyon Henderson, who is returning to school for a fourth year, and guard Donovan Jackson, who is returning for a fourth season. At the start of the season, everyone was viewed as players who would seriously consider the NFL.
In the NCAA transfer portal, former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard transferred to the Buckeyes for his senior year, and two-time All-SEC quarterback Quinshon Judkins transferred from Ole Miss.
Ohio State also added Alabama center Seth McLaughlin to the portal.
O'Brien is a Brown graduate who began his career there in 1993. He worked at Georgia Tech, Maryland and Duke before joining the Patriots' staff as an offensive assistant in 2007.