Former Patriots RB believes Bill O’Brien can fix offense

Former New England Patriots running back James White believes new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien is the right man to repair the team's offense. 

"I think Billy O, bringing him back is huge," White explained during the latest edition of "Tom E. Curran’s "Patriots Talk" podcast, per Dakota Randall of NESN. "Obviously, the offense had a down year … Billy O should bring that discipline back, that accountability back. From the quarterback position to offensive line, running back, receivers, basically making sure that guys can show they are reliable on a day-to-day basis will be the guys that are playing week in and week out." 

Quarterback Mac Jones struggled in multiple ways under assistants Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, so much so that Jones reportedly contacted outsiders for coaching help last season. Patricia is now with the Philadelphia Eagles, and it appears Judge won't be hands-on with the offense moving forward. 

White wasn't with the Patriots during O’Brien's first stint with the organization but seemingly has heard positive things about what the coach should bring to a team that finished the 2022 campaign 8-9 and out of the playoffs.

"I think that’ll be very important to get back to those finer details, the fundamentals," White said while acknowledging he hasn't interacted with O’Brien "too much." 

White also backed Bill Belichick as the best coach in the AFC East and as a leader who will work with O’Brien to make the Patriots more than just spoilers this season. 

"You can have all the players you want," White continued. "If you don’t have the right coach in place to allow the players to be themselves to go out and execute the game plan, then it honestly doesn’t matter. So I think Billy O and Coach (Belichick) is a great match-up. Again, I think it allows for this team to be a surprising football team."

White sounds confident O’Brien will help Jones "earn the trust of his teammates once again," but sportsbooks aren't sold. As of Thursday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the 2023 Patriots as massive underdogs at +1000 odds to win the division title.