There Is Reportedly Some Mutual Interest Between Bill O'Brien And Patriots
BOSTON (CBS) -- With Josh McDaniels leaving the Patriots to lead the Raiders, New England has a big hole to fill at offensive coordinator. Bill O'Brien, who held the position in 2011, has been mentioned as a potential McDaniels replacement.
It makes sense too, given O'Brien's connection to the Patriots and, more recently, quarterback Mac Jones. He knows the New England system and how things operate under Bill Belichick, which would give him a head start at taking over for McDaniels.
O'Brien is currently the offensive coordinator at Alabama, so he'd be leaving a pretty cushy college gig to return to the NFL. But NFL Network's Ian Rapoport believes there is at least some mutual interest between O'Brien and the Patriots.
"I think there is interest from them and there is interest from him. A lot of times when that's the case, these things end up working out," Rapoport told WEEI's Gresh and Keefe on Thursday.
Rapoport noted that the Patriots are usually pretty slow when it comes to staffing decisions, plus other interviews need to take place for the offensive coordinator gig. Nothing is considered imminent at this time.
O'Brien didn't coach Jones at Alabama, but the two crossed paths briefly when Jones was on his way out and O'Brien was on his way in. Jones reportedly helped teach O'Brien the Alabama playbook in 2021.
On Wednesday, Alabama head coach Nick Saban was asked if he thinks O'Brien will return to the NFL. While Saban has a Belichick-like approach with the media, he sounded pretty optimistic that O'Brien would be back with the Crimson Tide for 2022.
"We have no indication of that, other than what y'all put on the Internet right now, which is a lot of maybes," Saban told reporters on Wednesday, via Mike Rodak of AL.com. "We're not trying to address anything that might happen.
"I don't think Bill is trying to leave," he said, adding that he would support O'Brien if he did depart for the NFL.