On Friday afternoon, Kevin J. Stone of the New England Football Journal reported that Ohio State offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien is a top target for Boston College football in their search for a new head coach. His sources also said that former Florida head coach Dan Mullen is “off the table” and that 6-9 other interviews have occurred, but O’Brien remains BC’s top target and “the ball in his court.”
From a different source:
Dan Mullen is off the table.
O’Brien has become a top priority from BC’s perspective, but ball is essentially in his court. We’ll see how this plays out @newftbj @AdamKurkjian @BCEagleAction https://t.co/5NgMgBhPbG
— Kevin J. Stone (@kstone06) February 2, 2024
O’Brien is one of the biggest names that has been floated to replace Jeff Hafley at Boston College, and his hiring would be a huge win for the program for many reasons, which you can read about here. The local star power alone would be great for BC, as O’Brien is very well known in the area for coaching some of the top offenses for the New England Patriots during the Brady-Belichick era.
If hired, it would be O’Brien’s first head coaching gig since he was fired as the head coach of the Houston Texans in 2020. He has an extensive history of coaching in college, too, from his time as Penn State head coach directly following the Joe Paterno scandal, to his two years as Alabama offensive coordinator from 2021-2022, to his many years as a college assistant before landing in the NFL with the Patriots.
Whether or not O’Brien actually would want the Boston College job is another question. Is he angling to eventually be an NFL head coach again? If so, the BC job is probably a dead end. But if he would be satisfied with a big salary, low expectations, and a job close to home, then it’s harder to get a better fit than the gig in Chestnut Hill.