Former Patriots OC lands first college HC job in over 10 years

The latest news on the 54-year-old not only represents a switch from his reported hire as Ohio State's next offensive coordinator in January but once again sees him going from the NFL back to the college game.

Multiple reports earlier this week indicated that a connection between the Eagles and O'Brien was coming. The lead gig on the Chestnut Hill campus opened up in late January when former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley was hired as the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator.

O'Brien is a native of Dorchester, Massachusetts (a neighborhood of Boston) and grew up in nearby Andover. O'Brien played college football for Brown University from 1990-92 in Division I-AA, now called the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), before landing his first coaching gig as the Bears tight ends coach in 1993.

Over the past three decades, he's held 15 coaching positions with eight teams (six at the collegiate level).

After leaving the Bay State for college, O'Brien didn't return to Massachusetts until he joined the New England Patriots as an offensive assistant in 2007. Over the last 17 years, he's spent six seasons with the Patriots across two stints.

Now, instead of heading out of state again, he'll stay close to home and try to help the Eagles get past the seven-win mark, somewhere they haven't been since his first season with the Pats.