Patriots Hiring Former NFL Head Coach With Past Ties To Franchise: Report

Houston Texans v New England Patriots

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The New England Patriots have reportedly hired Bill O'Brien as their new offensive coordinator, a position he previously held with the franchise, sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Low.

O'Brien, who spent the past two seasons as the Alabama Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator following his tenure as head coach of the Houston Texans, had previously worked under head coach Bill Belichick on the Patriots' staff from 2007-11 serving various roles.

"Alabama OC/QB coach Bill O’Brien has returned to New England and is being named the Patriots offensive coordinator, sources tell @ClowESPN and me," Schefter tweeted. "O’Brien was a Patriots’ assistant coach from 2007-2011, and now returns to coach Mac Jones, whom he briefly worked with at Alabama."

O'Brien initially left the Patriots in 2012 to take over as the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions following a child sex abuse scandal involving the program and won ESPN's National Coach of the Year award after leading the team to an 8-4 record during his first season. The Dorchester native was hired by the Texans in 2014 and went 52-48 during seven seasons with the franchise, which included four AFC South Division titles and postseason berths.

O'Brien had previously joined the Patriots' staff as an offensive assistant in 2007 and was promoted to wide receivers coach in 2008, quarterbacks coach in 2009 and offensive coordinator in 2011 while retaining his quarterbacks coach duties.


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