Patriots officially hire Bill O'Brien as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach
BOSTON -- It's official. Bill O'Brien is back with the New England Patriots.
It was reported that O'Brien was going to be hired as New England's offensive coordinator earlier this week, but that isn't the only hat he'll wear in his return to the Patriots. O'Brien will also be the team's quarterbacks coach, the Patriots announced Thursday.
That is great news for Mac Jones, who did not get along very well with last season's quarterbacks coach, Joe Judge, according to a story in the Boston Herald on Thursday.
New England's offense was a disaster in 2022 with Matt Patricia and Judge leading the way from the sidelines. Neither had experience coaching offense, and it showed as Jones took a step back from his solid rookie season and the Patriots struggled to put up points throughout the year.
O'Brien, an Andover native, will bring plenty of offensive experience back with him to the Patriots sideline. He was an offensive coach with the team from 2007-2011, serving as QBs coach from 2009-11, and finished his first go-around as the team's OC in 2011.
The Patriots offense finished in the top 10 in offense every year during O'Brien's first tenure with the team. Having Tom Brady at quarterback certainly helped, but O'Brien brings a wise offensive mind to New England.
"I am looking forward to working with Bill again," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said in Thursday's release. "He is an outstanding coach and an asset to our staff."
Thursday's announcement did not reveal any new roles for Patricia or Judge.