Bill O'Brien (American Football)
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William James O'Brien (born October 23, 1969), nicknamed "Teapot", is an
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
coach who is currently the head coach at
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
. Previously, he was the
head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
of the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
from 2014 to 2020, and at
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...
from 2012 to 2013. Prior to
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
, O'Brien was the
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
at the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
and for the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
. After the Patriots parted ways with longtime head coach Bill Belichick at the end of the 2023 season, O'Brien was not retained by the team. O'Brien began his coaching career in 1993 at
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
before spending more than a decade coaching in the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
(ACC). He joined the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
in 2007, eventually serving as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in 2011. In 2012, O'Brien was hired by Penn State to take over a program that had just endured a child sexual abuse scandal perpetrated by one of its coaches. In his first season as head coach, O'Brien led the team to an 8–4 record and won ESPN's National Coach of the Year award. After the 2012 season, he garnered significant interest to return to the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) as a head coach and interviewed with both the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
and the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
. However, O'Brien decided to stay at Penn State, citing that it would send a poor message to leave after just one season. After his second season, O'Brien left Penn State to become the head coach of the Texans. O'Brien's tenure with the Texans included a 51–31 Divisional Round loss to the eventual Super Bowl winning Kansas City Chiefs team after leading 24–0 in the second quarter, and a controversial trade of star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
. In 2020, O'Brien was fired by the Texans, and was hired by Alabama to be offensive coordinator in 2021. In 2023, he was re-hired by the Patriots to be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Following the season, O'Brien was hired by
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
to be their head coach.


Early life

O'Brien was born on October 23, 1969, in the Dorchester neighborhood of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
to John O'Brien and Anne Murphy O'Brien. He grew up in
Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...
with his parents and two brothers, John and Tom. Growing up, Bill played Little League. After graduating from St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers, he attended
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
, where O'Brien played
defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
and
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
for the
Brown Bears The Brown Bears are the sports teams that represent Brown University, an American university located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share th ...
from 1990 to 1992.


Coaching career


College assistant

O'Brien's first coaching position was at Brown, where he coached
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
s in 1993 and inside linebackers in 1994. He then spent the next three seasons (1995–1997) as an offensive graduate assistant at
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...
. O'Brien then coached the Yellow Jackets'
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
s from 1998 to 2000. In 1999, running back Sean Gregory ran for 837 yards with six touchdowns. The following year, running back Joe Burns ran for 908 yards with 12 touchdowns. From 2001 to 2002, O'Brien served as offensive coordinator and
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
s coach and was named an assistant head coach for the 2002 season. In 2002, O'Brien was hired as Notre Dame's offensive Coordinator before
George O'Leary George Joseph O'Leary (born August 17, 1946) is a former American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 1994 to 2001 and the UCF Knights from 2004 to 20 ...
was dismissed. As
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
at Georgia Tech in
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
and
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, his teams averaged 31 and 21.5 points per game, respectively as the teams went 9–4 and 7–6. In 2001, running back Joe Burns ran for 1,165 yards with 14 touchdowns and quarterback George Godsey threw for 3,085 yards with 18 touchdowns. In 2002 under Chan Gailey, running back Tony Hollings ran for 633 yards with 11 touchdowns, and wide receiver Kerry Watkins recorded 1,050 receiving yards and five touchdowns. In 2003, O'Brien left to coach
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
s at the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
, where he spent two seasons. In 2003, running back Josh Allen ran for 922 yards and eight touchdowns while Bruce Perry ran for 713 yards and six touchdowns. As offensive coordinator at Duke in
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
and
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
, O'Brien's teams averaged 16.1 and 14.9 points per game. In 2006, quarterback Thaddeus Lewis threw for 2,134 yards and 11 touchdowns.


New England Patriots

After two seasons with Duke, O'Brien was hired by the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
as an offensive assistant on February 27, 2007. On February 21, 2008, O'Brien was promoted to wide receivers coach. He became the quarterbacks coach and offensive play-caller following the 2008 season after quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator
Josh McDaniels Joshua Thomas McDaniels (born April 22, 1976) is an American professional football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the offensive coordinator of the Patrio ...
left to become head coach of the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
. O'Brien was promoted to offensive coordinator in February 2011. He spent six seasons coaching within the Patriots offense and four of those six seasons as the play-caller. During this period, the Patriots offense had some of their most productive seasons as did quarterback
Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...
. The Patriots gave the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
permission to interview O'Brien for their head coaching vacancy during the Patriots'
playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
bye week; O'Brien was scheduled for an interview, but never actually interviewed for the job. Instead, he interviewed with
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...
staff on January 5, 2012, was offered the head coach position and signed a four-year contract to become the Nittany Lions' coach. O'Brien continued as New England's offensive coordinator through
Super Bowl XLVI Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
.


Penn State

O'Brien was hired as Penn State's 15th head football coach, replacing
Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...
, who had coached the team from 1966 until his dismissal in 2011. O'Brien was introduced as the head coach at a press conference on January 7, 2012. File:Bill-obrien-football-coach-by-bill-cramer-1.jpg, Bill O’Brien in 2012 File:Bill-obrien-football-coach-by-bill-cramer-2.jpg, Bill O’Brien in 2012 File:Bill-obrien-football-coach-by-bill-cramer-3.jpg, Bill O’Brien in 2012 File:Bill-obrien-football-coach-by-bill-cramer-4.jpg, Bill O’Brien in 2012 File:Bill-obrien-football-coach-by-bill-cramer-5.jpg, Bill O’Brien in 2012 File:Bill-obrien-football-coach-by-bill-cramer-6.jpg, Bill O’Brien in 2012


Response to sanctions

Due to the
Penn State child sex abuse scandal The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen year ...
, on July 24, 2012, the
National Collegiate Athletics Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...
(NCAA) sanctioned Penn State with a four-year postseason ban and loss of 40 scholarships over a four-year period. In light of these NCAA sanctions, O'Brien issued the following statement:
"Today we receive a very harsh penalty from the NCAA and as head coach of the Nittany Lions football program, I will do everything in my power to not only comply, but help guide the University forward to become a national leader in ethics, compliance and operational excellence. I knew when I accepted the position that there would be tough times ahead. But I am committed for the long term to Penn State and our student athletes. I was then and I remain convinced that our student athletes are the best in the country. I could not be more proud to lead this team and these courageous and humble young men into the upcoming 2012 season. Together we are committed to building a better athletic program and university".
Because of a clause in his contract, O'Brien received an automatic four-year extension that guaranteed an extra year for every year of sanctions put on the program.


2012

In O'Brien's first game as Penn State's head coach, the Nittany Lions lost to the
Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...
Bobcats by a score of 24–14. His first win as the Penn State head coach took place on September 15, 2012, with a 34–7 win against the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
at Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA. Despite the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal, O'Brien's first season as coach at Penn State was far more successful than anticipated and resulted in a final record of 8–4. He collected the most wins for a first-year head coach in school history and was awarded Big Ten Coach of the Year on November 27, 2012. O'Brien was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by both the media and the coaches. On December 8, 2012, he was named the national coach of the year by ESPN. On January 17, 2013, O'Brien was awarded the 2012 Paul "Bear" Bryant College Coach of the Year Award.


NFL interest

In January 2013, O'Brien interviewed for the head coaching position with the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
and
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
. However, he decided to remain at Penn State, stating: "I'm not a one-and-done guy. I made a commitment to these players at Penn State and that's what I am going to do. I'm not gonna cut and run after one year, that's for sure."


Houston Texans

After
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
head coach Gary Kubiak was fired on December 6, 2013, multiple reports stated that O'Brien was interested in returning to the NFL. On December 29, O'Brien met with the Texans for further discussion about the head coaching job there. He was officially introduced as the Texans' head coach on January 2, 2014. The Texans had finished 2–14 in 2013 and owned the first overall selection in the 2014 NFL draft, which they used on
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
Jadeveon Clowney.


2014 season

O'Brien earned his first win as a head coach when the Texans beat the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
in the season-opener by a score of 17–6. In O'Brien's first season with the Texans, they finished with a 9–7 record and narrowly missed the playoffs.


2015 season

In 2015, the Texans again finished with a 9–7 record and finished atop the
AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season, 200 ...
. In the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, the Texans were blown out 30–0 by the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
.


2016 season

In 2016, the Texans finished with a 9–7 record for the third consecutive year and won their second consecutive AFC South title. The Texans defeated the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
by a score of 27–14 in the Wild Card Round, but then lost on the road in the Divisional Round by a score of 34–16 to the eventual
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
champions, the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
.


2017 season

The 2017 season marked O'Brien's first as an NFL head coach in which his team did not finish with a winning record. The Texans had a 4–12 record, losing nine of their final 10 games. The 2017 season saw the debut of quarterback Deshaun Watson, whom the Texans selected in the first round with the 12th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. However, Watson's season prematurely ended after he tore his ACL in practice prior to Week 9, which along with injuries to various other players contributed to the team's collapse.


2018 season

On January 13, 2018, O'Brien received a four-year contract extension. The Texans started the season 0–3, but then went on a nine-game winning streak and finished atop the AFC South with an 11–5 record. Their season ended when they lost to the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
in the Wild Card Round by a score of 21–7.


2019 season

In 2019, the Texans finished with a 10–6 record and captured another division title. The Texans outlasted the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
in the Wild Card Round with a 22–19 overtime victory, overcoming a 16–0 halftime deficit. However, they were eliminated in the Divisional Round with a 51–31 road loss to the eventual
Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 NFL season, 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2019 Kansas City Chiefs season, Kansas City ...
champion
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
despite a 24–0 lead in the second quarter. On January 28, 2020, O'Brien was appointed as the Texans' general manager after the Texans had gone the entire 2019 season with the position vacant. During the offseason, O'Brien traded wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft to the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick, and a
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
fourth-round pick, a move that was highly criticized.


2020 season

Following a 0–4 start in 2020, O'Brien was fired by the Texans on October 5, 2020. He finished his tenure in Houston with a regular-season record and a playoff record for a combined record of 54–52.


Alabama

On January 21, 2021, O'Brien was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
under head coach
Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. ( ; born October 31, 1951) is an American sportscaster and former Professional gridiron football, professional and college football coach. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's ''College GameDay (football TV program), Colleg ...
, replacing Steve Sarkisian, who left to become the head coach at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
. During the 2021 season, the Crimson Tide finished 13–2 (7–1 SEC) after winning the Southeastern Conference Championship against Georgia 41–24 and beating Cincinnati 27–6 in the CFP Semi-final, setting up a rematch against Georgia in the CFP National Championship game. Alabama was ultimately defeated by Georgia in the National Championship game 33–18. O’Brien's offensive unit during the 2021 season was led by quarterback Bryce Young, who set the school record for most passing yards in a single game (559) and won several Player of the Year awards in 2021, including the
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...
. During the 2022 season, Alabama finished 11–2 (6–2 SEC) and ended the season as SEC Western Division co-champions, ranked No. 5 the AP Poll with a 45–20 victory over Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl. Over the course of O'Brien's two years as offensive coordinator, Alabama had a record of 24–4 and averaged over 41 points per game. However, he received significant criticism from fans during his tenure at Alabama due to the teams’ inability to win a National Championship, as well as a lack of player development at the quarterback position, despite Young winning the Heisman and being drafted first overall in the 2023 NFL Draft by the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
.


New England Patriots (second stint)

On January 24, 2023, O'Brien was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the New England Patriots. The Patriots finished the 2023 season as one of the bottom-three offenses in the league.


Ohio State

On January 19, 2024, O'Brien was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for
Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
. He never coached a practice or game for the Buckeyes, as O'Brien departed for Boston College just a few weeks after the initial hiring.


Boston College

On February 9, 2024, O'Brien was hired as the head coach of
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
, replacing Jeff Hafley, who left to become the defensive coordinator of the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
. In this first season with the Eagles, O'Brien led the team to a 7–5 mark in the regular season. The team qualified for the Pinstripe Bowl, which they lost 20–15 to Nebraska.


Personal life

O'Brien and his wife, Colleen, have two sons, Jack and Michael. Jack, the elder son, has a rare brain disorder called
lissencephaly Lissencephaly (, meaning 'smooth brain') is a set of rare brain disorders whereby the whole or parts of the surface of the brain are smooth. It is caused by defective neuronal migration during the 12th to 24th weeks of gestation, resulting in a ...
.


Head coaching record


College

‡ Ineligible for
Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...
title, bowl game and Coaches Poll


NFL


Records and achievements


NFL


Houston Texans

* Most playoff wins: 2 (tied with Gary Kubiak and DeMeco Ryans) * Most division titles: 4 (
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
,
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
,
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
,
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
) * Longest win streak: 9 (
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
)


New England Patriots

* 2× AFC Champion: (
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
,
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
)


References


External links


Boston College Eagles bio


at
Pro Football Reference Pro Football Reference (PFR) is an online statistics database for professional American football maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for players, teams, and games, as well as records and NFL draft history. PFR was ...

College coaching statistics
at
Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Bill 1969 births Living people American football defensive ends American football linebackers Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Boston College Eagles football coaches Brown Bears football coaches Brown Bears football players Duke Blue Devils football coaches Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football coaches Houston Texans executives Houston Texans head coaches Maryland Terrapins football coaches New England Patriots coaches NFL offensive coordinators Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches People from Dorchester, Boston Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Players of American football from Boston