It doesn’t look like Bill O’Brien will be returning to Penn State this November.
Less than a month after becoming Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, O’Brien’s in the brink to return to his home state of Massachusetts and becoming the head coach at Boston College per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Here's our @espn story on Bill O'Brien and BC working toward a deal for him to become the next head coach, per ESPN sources. A deal is expected to come together soon, giving BC a coach with extensive NFL experience and strong local ties. https://t.co/hzUhlUN0Um
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 9, 2024
Thamel reported Friday morning that “a deal is expected soon.”
This would be O’Brien’s first college head coaching job since he left PSU after the 2013 season.
O’Brien will be remembered positivley by all rational Penn State fans. He was the one who Penn State hired to replace the legendary Joe Paterno. He was the man who walked into the program when it was reeling from scandal, and then six months later, became a program hit with NCAA sanctions. O’Brien not only kept Penn State from getting walked over by the Big Ten, he kept it a winning program. He went 8-4 in his first season, 7-5 in his second and the NFL’s Houston Texans noticed, hiring O’Brien on New Year’s Eve.
He held that job for almost seven seasons, and Houston won the AFC South four times in that period. After his dismissal during the 2020 season, O’Brien returned to my college ranks, this time as an offensive coordinator. In his first season at Alabama, O’Brien helped QB Bryce Young to the Heisman Trophy.
He stayed at Bama through the ‘22 season, then returned to the NFL in the same role he left to take the Penn State job. O’Brien spent the 2023 season as New England’s offensive coordinator.
O’Brien was slated to return to Penn State for Ohio State’s Nov. 2 clash at Beaver Stadium. Now, it appears that game will be slightly less intriguing.
