Coaching Profile: Bill O’Brien Rejoins Patriots as OC

Well, he was effectively the OC in 2010, and was the OC in 2011. Those offenses ranked 1st and 3rd in points, and right at the top in most categories. And that's with Walker as WR1, leading the mummified corpse of Deion Branch and Chad Johnson as the only other 2 WRs to get targeted more than 10 times, with a variety pack of mediocrity (and talent yet to develop) at RB.

But ya gotta hand it to the guy...dude could utilize the shit out of TEs.

I only wanted to bold and enlarge that last sentence.
 


Alabama fans want BO'B gone as much as some want him in New England. That to me is a big red flag. Apparently he had a penchant for calling shotgun formation, spread offense plays at idiotic times. Just like he did with the Pats.

The only impressive thing that BO'B has, is his dimple. :coffee:
 
Well, he was effectively the OC in 2010, and was the OC in 2011. Those offenses ranked 1st and 3rd in points, and right at the top in most categories. And that's with Walker as WR1, leading the mummified corpse of Deion Branch and Chad Johnson as the only other 2 WRs to get targeted more than 10 times, with a variety pack of mediocrity (and talent yet to develop) at RB.

But ya gotta hand it to the guy...dude could utilize the shit out of TEs.

Yea
Jonnu Smith is a 17M albatross immovable contract next year (thank you Ziegler/ McIdiot), and the only OC who can fix him is Bill O’Brien.
 

Why do the Patriots see him as a potential offensive coordinator?​

In order to assess this question, we touched base with Josh Chatham of SB Nation’s Alabama blog, Roll ‘Bama Roll. The answers below give some insight into O’Brien’s time at the school, and what it might mean for a potential return to the Patriots.

How would you assess the job O’Brien has done at Alabama? “For me, assessing any coordinator under Nick Saban comes with the caveat that Nick is a bit of a control freak where scheme is concerned. Mac Jones reportedly worked to get O’Brien up to speed on Alabama’s playbook when Bill first arrived in Tuscaloosa. That said, if I’m being frank the majority of Alabama fans want to see him gone.

While the offense has been outstanding the past couple years in terms of ranking, there has been a drop-off in production since 2020. O’Brien has coordinated the offense since then and thus tends to get an unfair share of the blame. Bill inherited an offensive unit that had lost nearly all of its receiving production from the transcendent 2020 squad, plus three starters off of one of the better offensive lines college football has seen in the last decade. There were some growing pains as a result, but it’s tough to argue with the 41 points per game we saw this season. Alabama fans are used to seeing the team at the top of the heap and can be notoriously hard to please.”

What did his offense at Alabama look like, and which elements could he bring to New England? “As mentioned above, every game plan runs through Saban. Nick prefers to take advantage of the college rules that allow downfield blocking on balls completed in the backfield, and allow ineligible players to wander three yards downfield on passes beyond the line of scrimmage, by utilizing a zone running scheme that allows for heavy RPO usage. Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith were utterly devastating on the RPO slant in 2020, and having Najee Harris as the run option in those RPOs didn’t hurt. With the emergence of Rhamondre Stevenson in the backfield, the Pats are only an elite WR way from having that kind of combination. RPOs aren’t quite as effective in the NFL thanks to the tighter rules, but we’ve seen teams executing them at that level.

“Interestingly, Saban mentioned that the RPO game wasn’t necessarily a strength of the 2021 team. Bryce Young is a smaller QB who doesn’t seem to see the slant all that well, but he’s phenomenal at extending plays and making highlight reel plays down the field. For that reason, we saw a few more slow developing passing concepts. Nick has said that he would like to get back to the RPO game next season. Of course, O’Briens roots are in the Erhardt-Perkins system, so I’d say he’s probably pretty versatile.”

 

Why do the Patriots see him as a potential offensive coordinator?​

In order to assess this question, we touched base with Josh Chatham of SB Nation’s Alabama blog, Roll ‘Bama Roll. The answers below give some insight into O’Brien’s time at the school, and what it might mean for a potential return to the Patriots.

How would you assess the job O’Brien has done at Alabama? “For me, assessing any coordinator under Nick Saban comes with the caveat that Nick is a bit of a control freak where scheme is concerned. Mac Jones reportedly worked to get O’Brien up to speed on Alabama’s playbook when Bill first arrived in Tuscaloosa. That said, if I’m being frank the majority of Alabama fans want to see him gone.

While the offense has been outstanding the past couple years in terms of ranking, there has been a drop-off in production since 2020. O’Brien has coordinated the offense since then and thus tends to get an unfair share of the blame. Bill inherited an offensive unit that had lost nearly all of its receiving production from the transcendent 2020 squad, plus three starters off of one of the better offensive lines college football has seen in the last decade. There were some growing pains as a result, but it’s tough to argue with the 41 points per game we saw this season. Alabama fans are used to seeing the team at the top of the heap and can be notoriously hard to please.”

What did his offense at Alabama look like, and which elements could he bring to New England? “As mentioned above, every game plan runs through Saban. Nick prefers to take advantage of the college rules that allow downfield blocking on balls completed in the backfield, and allow ineligible players to wander three yards downfield on passes beyond the line of scrimmage, by utilizing a zone running scheme that allows for heavy RPO usage. Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith were utterly devastating on the RPO slant in 2020, and having Najee Harris as the run option in those RPOs didn’t hurt. With the emergence of Rhamondre Stevenson in the backfield, the Pats are only an elite WR way from having that kind of combination. RPOs aren’t quite as effective in the NFL thanks to the tighter rules, but we’ve seen teams executing them at that level.

“Interestingly, Saban mentioned that the RPO game wasn’t necessarily a strength of the 2021 team. Bryce Young is a smaller QB who doesn’t seem to see the slant all that well, but he’s phenomenal at extending plays and making highlight reel plays down the field. For that reason, we saw a few more slow developing passing concepts. Nick has said that he would like to get back to the RPO game next season. Of course, O’Briens roots are in the Erhardt-Perkins system, so I’d say he’s probably pretty versatile.”


Pretty fair article. It's probably a mutual win that BOB leaves for the NFL.

Alabama put up the same points/game as it did compared to 2016, 2017, but yes it wasn't the same as when they had superstars who all left to go to the NFL. O'Brien had to rebuild a new QB, new WRs, RB, and a new Oline, with a short QB as the article states who wasn't ideal for slants or other plays.

BOB has some coaching versatility, he's won with Brian Hoyer, won with Ryan Mallett, won with a short dual-threat QB in Bryce, won with a pocket passer in TB12, won with 2TEs, or run with a running-heavy attack.

I know he's got a fiery personality but that should be fine. Mac wants direction and someone who can take clear reins of the offense.
 
Sounds promising. We need him, he has the history as well with Mac and I think Mac would be ecstatic if BoB comes on board.

BoB is the most logical choice. He can right the ship the fastest and also has the longest runway for success.

I just want to positive reports to come from a legit source.
 
Yup, the person the pickle was made for cares.
🤣
.
 
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Mac must be happy.
 
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