Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is a "strong option" to return to New England as the Patriots' offensive coordinator in 2023, according to a report on Saturday from NFL Network.
After losing Josh McDaniels to the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching position ahead of this season, Bill Belichick chose an unconventional option to replace him. Joe Judge returned to the organization as an "offensive assistant" and quarterbacks coach, while Matt Patricia remained a "senior football advisor" and offensive line coach. Belichick has played keep-away in regards to who will actually call plays, but Patricia and Judge are listed first on the Patriots' staff page.
While both are trusted members of the Belichick coaching tree, Judge has never coached quarterbacks before this season; Patricia spent 2005 as New England's assistant O-line coach but made his name at the NFL level on the defensive side of the ball. Neither has been an offensive coordinator at any level before this season.
In a related story, the Patriots have scored 24 offensive touchdowns in 14 games.
Enter O'Brien.
O'Brien, 53, spent 2007-11 in Foxboro, starting as an offensive assistant and ending as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. As NFL Network notes, those five seasons saw the Pats lead the NFL in points (30.7) and yards (393.1) per game. The Patriots also happened to have a certain GOAT quarterback in his prime in those years, but the club's share of 30-point games has dropped by nearly 33 percent since O'Brien left to become Penn State's head coach in 2012.
O'Brien's 2-year contract at $1.1 million per year expires after Alabama's date with Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Eve.
While O'Brien did not cross paths with Mac Jones in Tuscaloosa, the Patriots' second-year quarterback would no doubt be impressed by O'Brien's work in helping Bryce Young win the Heisman Trophy in 2021. Alabama has scored right at 40 points per game in O'Brien's two seasons in crimson, which is both: A) good enough to rank comfortably in the top 10 in FBS in both seasons, and B) a touchdown below the marks set by Steve Sarkisian's offenses in 2019 and '20.
All that to say, a return of O'Brien to Foxboro might sound like a welcome idea to both Belichick and Nick Saban.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.