Now we wait…
On Wednesday evening, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported that the Boston College search for a new football head coach has narrowed down to just two candidates, one of which is Ohio State offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. ESPN’s Pete Thamel also reported that the remaining candidates will have a final round of interviews within the next two days.
Hearing Boston College is now down to two candidates in its head coaching search. Ohio State OC Bill O’Brien is one of them: https://t.co/IFsMNlqfq1https://t.co/IFsMNlqfq1
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 7, 2024
Boston College’s search remains on the timeline indicated here. Another round of in-person interviews is expected in next 48 hours, with multiple candidates set to meet with school officials. https://t.co/jK3WIbUCLi
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 7, 2024
All of these developments seem to line up with reporting from earlier in the week. BC is going through its normal interview process to replace former head coach Jeff Hafley, while Bill O’Brien is the heavy favorite to land the job. While early reporting that O’Brien had already locked the job down may have been premature, it seems like Boston College identified their top candidate early and may very well end up with the Massachusetts native as their locker room leader. Reports made by outlets like the Boston Herald, New England Football Journal, and 247 have indicated that a choice other than O’Brien would be surprising.
As for the other candidate that has entered the final stage of interviewing at BC, it’s not known for sure who it could be, but various reports have placed Army head coach Jeff Monken and former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst among the finalists. Both have extensive experience as head coaches, Chryst especially at the Power 4 level, something that the Boston College administration has reportedly valued very highly throughout this process. But neither of those candidates can match the several seasons Bill O’Brien spent as a head coach in the NFL.
Be sure to follow along with BCI these next two days, because a decision is imminent and we’ll be covering everything you need to know. Plus, read more here about why Bill O’Brien could be a great head coach at BC.