Adam Schefter tweets this morning that Alabama offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien is heading back to the NFL.
In a move that has been widely expected for some time, O'Brien is heading back to New England as Bill Belichick's offensive coordinator.
Belichick spent last season without someone on staff with the title of offensive coordinator with Joe Judge and Matt Patricia sharing the play calling duties on game day.
The addition of O'Brien marks a likely return of the traditional offensive coordinator role in Foxborough after things went less than stellar without one last fall.
O'Brien spent the last two seasons on Nick Saban's staff in Tuscaloosa, and before that was the head coach and GM of the Texans.
He previously spent the 2011 season as the offensive play caller for Belichick and held various roles on the Patriots staff from 2007-10.
Saban will now have to fill both coordinator spots for the Tide, something he has become more familiar with than most head coaches over the years. It will be his sixth different offensive coordinator in the last eight seasons.
Defensive coordinator Pete Golding left to become the defensive coordinator at Ole Miss back on January 13th.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.