New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien may be back for his second tour of duty with the franchise.
However, he is not living in the past.
During his first meeting with the media since being hired by the Patriots in January, O’Brien was both candid and direct about the mindset which he will employ to steer New England’s offensive ship back in the right direction.
“It’s a clean slate," he said. “We’re all moving forward.”
O’Brien previously served under head coach Bill Belichick from 2007-11; coaching quarterbacks, calling offensive plays and one official season (2011) as offensive coordinator. Since that time, he has served as head coach at Penn State, as well as the Houston Texans. Most recently, he was the offensive coordinator at Alabama under head coach Nick Saban.
Since his return to New England became official, O’Brien revealed that he has spent the majority of his time not only studying Patriots’ film, but also other pro and college-level offenses to build an improved Patriots unit for 2023.
Though many have dubbed him as the ‘medicine man’ of New England’s scoring maladies, O’Brien was quick to remind the masses that offensive improvement is — and will remain — a team effort.
“We do our part as coaches,” O’Brien said of his duties this season. “We evaluate players, we give our opinion, and we get back to our role on the staff.”
For the Patriots, it is time to repair what had become a fractured offense under Patricia’s management. In his lone season at the command post, the Pats offense regressed from one showing significant promise (in 2021) to a subpar unit dwelling among the NFL's bottom teams. The 2022 iteration of Patriots finished 7th-worst in total yards while finishing 17th in the NFL in points per game.
In short, New England’s offense has little place else to go but up.
As such, there is a palpable undercurrent of excitement in New England in the wake of O’Brien’s hiring — with quarterback Mac Jones apparently leading the charge.
During his time at Alabama, Jones was quite proficient at running O’Brien’s type of offense. With a strong supporting cast of playmakers around him, Jones was able to create plays by leading his receivers under the defense, releasing the ball quickly and delivering it accurately. This gave his playmakers the space they needed to catch and run with the football. Not only did it put points on the board, it also helped to keep the quarterback ahead of the blitz and out of duress.
It should be noted that O’Brien’s hiring, alone, does not automatically heal every offensive wound in New England. The 53-year-old coach must establish his voice, as well as his command with his team.
Though his brief experience in working with Jones should lessen the timeframe for both coach and quarterback to land on the same page, O’Brien made it clear that he is back with New England for several reasons beyond the identity of his expected starting quarterback.
“It wasn’t about one person,” O’Brien said.
With the right pieces now in place, the responsibility to improve now rests on the Patriots coach as he begins preparations for his first season back in New England in more than a decade.
While he may be happy to be back, he is not about to reveal any of his trade secrets.
“I think it would be crazy for me to stand up here and tell you what we’re doing offensively,” O’Brien said with a grin. “Some of those things are things we’ve done here, other things are new.”
In true New England fashion, O’Brien is keeping things close to the vest.
Perhaps there is still much ‘Patriot’ in him, after all.
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