Scott O'Brien (born June 25, 1957) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

coach and former player who is currently serving as an area scout for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). A former

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 formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

, O'Brien served as a

special teams coach In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

for three college football teams and for five NFL franchises during a 35-year long coaching career. In 2015, O'Brien retired from coaching and began his current role as an area scout.

Playing career

O'Brien attended the

University of Wisconsin–Superior The University of Wisconsin–Superior (UW–Superior or UWS) is a public liberal arts university in Superior, Wisconsin. UW–Superior grants associate, bachelor's, master's and specialist's degrees. The university enrolls 2,559 undergraduates ...

where he played

from 1975 through 1978. He signed with 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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

in 1979 as a

and also played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

in 1980.

Coaching career

College

O'Brien began his coaching career with his alma mater, Wisconsin–Superior, as an assistant coach from 1980 through 1982. In 1983, he moved to the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

, where he served as UNLV's linebackers and special teams coach from 1983 through 1985. He then spent a season in the same capacity at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universit ...

before becoming the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

's special teams coach in 1987. He held that position through 1990, when he moved to the NFL coaching ranks.

NFL

In 1991, O'Brien was hired by then-

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

head coach

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patr ...

as the Browns' special teams coach, winning the NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year Award in 1994. He stayed with the franchise even after Belichick's departure and the team's move to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

as the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

following the 1995 season. O'Brien was the Ravens' special teams coach through the 1998 season before he joined 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

as their assistant head coach and special teams coach in 1999. He left the Panthers after the 2004 season to join then-

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

as Saban's coordinator of football operations and assistant to the head coach in Saban's two seasons in Miami in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. O'Brien then joined the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

as their special teams coach in 2007, leaving after the 2008 season to serve the

in the same capacity, re-joining Belichick. On February 3, 2015, two days after O'Brien's special teams unit helped the New England Patriots win

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Co ...

, the Patriots announced that O'Brien would retire from coaching after 24 seasons in the NFL. However, O'Brien was kept on Belichick's staff, moving to the scouting department in his new role as an area scout for the club. O'Brien was a member of the staff when the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons in

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Ne ...

. O'Brien earned his third Super Bowl title when the Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams in

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Con ...

References

External links

New England Patriots bioUniversity of Wisconsin–Superior alumni bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Scott 1957 births Living people American football linebackers American football defensive ends Toronto Argonauts players UNLV Rebels football coaches Rice Owls football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Baltimore Ravens coaches Carolina Panthers coaches Miami Dolphins coaches Denver Broncos coaches New England Patriots coaches New England Patriots scouts Sportspeople from Superior, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin Wisconsin–Superior Yellowjackets football coaches Wisconsin–Superior Yellowjackets football players Green Bay Packers players