Former Penn State and Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien is currently wasting away as the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.
His return to New England has not gone swimmingly, with the Patriots boasting a 2-7 record and the NFL’s 31st-ranked offense.
Could this potentially lead to O’Brien’s reunion with Bill Belichick being short-lived? It seems reasonable if you pay attention to a report from Ben Volin of The Boston Globe.
“No one I’ve spoken to believes that O’Brien came to New England with long-term plans of being the offensive coordinator, because he wants to use the job as a springboard to a head coaching opportunity,” Volin reported recently.
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given that O’Brien enjoyed success as the Nittany Lions’ head coach (15-9) following the entire Jerry Sandusky scandal. He also led the Texans to a 52-48 record from 2014-20, earning four playoff appearances in the process.
The larger surprise here is that Volin is linking O’Brien to the Michigan State head coaching vacancy following the scandal-filled firing of Mel Tucker. Speaking of scandals, there is also a chance that Michigan could be looking for a new head coach with Jim Harbaugh embroiled in that whole sign-stealing drama. Volin believes they could target O”Brien, too.
“Now there are rumors that O’Brien, a former Penn State coach, could be headed back to college, with Michigan State looking for a new coach (and maybe Michigan, too),” report on interest in Bill O’Brien.
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Bill O’Brien as a fit for Michigan State
Former Spartans head coach Mel Tucker was fired two games into the season after allegations of sexual harassment became public record. The situation is not anywhere near settled with Tucker having filed a wrongful termination lawsuit.
It’s interesting in that O’Brien would bring experience with him to East Lansing dealing with a similar, albeit, more widespread scandal.
He replaced longtime Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno, who had served in that role from 1966-2011. Paterno was fired after allegations of child abuse were levied against assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Ultimately, Sandusky was convicted with Paterno being out of a job.
“The first thing you have to do – in addition to putting your staff together and connecting with your players – is to make sure people know there are things a lot more important than football,” O’Brien said years ago about dealing with the aftermath of a scandal.
It would seemingly make a lot of sense for Michigan State given O’Brien’s history and the fact that the program wants more institutional control after the Tucker drama.
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Could Bill O’Brien replace Jim Harbaugh at Michigan?
As for Michigan, this is a bit more of a long shot. There are rumors that Harbaugh could be facing another lengthy suspension amid an investigation into a low-level staffer stealing signs. More recently, a report indicates that Harbaugh could be facing a fine rather than a suspension.
“Although the Big Ten has considered a suspension for Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, it is considering a range of possibilities, including a significant fine, sources told me. Public reprimands/fines are common penalties under B1G sportsmanship policy,” report on Harbaugh situation.
Prior to this scandal breaking, reports indicated that Harbaugh was in line for a massive contract extension. While tht might not be the case now, it doesn’t seem like his job is on the line.
On the other hand, the former San Francisco 49ers head coach has flirted with a return to the NFL over the past several offseasons.
With the Las Vegas Raiders potentially looking for a new coach following the firing of Josh McDaniels, Harbaugh’s name continues to come up in rumors.
As with the Spartans, it would make sense for these Wolverines to consider O’Brien given the scandals we’ve seen in Ann Arbor over the past calendar-year plus. Remember, Harbaugh was suspended to open the season for recruiting violations.
Not only does O’Brien’s history with Penn State play a role in any perceived interest, it must be noted that he served as the offensive coordinator under Nick Saban with Alabama back in 2021-22.