Bill O'Brien Lasted All of Three Weeks as Ohio State's OC Before Becoming Boston College's Next Head Coach
Well that was quick. Bill O'Brien held the offensive coordinator job at Ohio State for three whole weeks before he ascended back to the head coaching ranks, taking the Boston College job recently vacated by Jeff Hafley.
On the BC side, this seems like a pretty great hire. The Eagles get a guy who's had experience all over the place but has notably been a successful college head coach in the northeast before and recently led some pretty prolific offenses at Alabama — having Bryce Young and the rest of the Crimson Tide's talent pool helps, but they still had to be coached.
For Ohio State, though, this deals at least a minor blow to one of the favorites to win the 2024 national title. I don't know how much due diligence was done on other candidates before O'Brien was hired in Columbus, but OSU will now have to conduct another offensive coordinator search almost as soon as its first one ended. It seems like the early name being thrown around most is Chip Kelly, which could make the Buckeyes pretty electrifying to watch.
It seems like Kelly wants out of Los Angeles before he's forced out — he's also reportedly gunning for the Seahawks' OC job — so that could create an entirely new round of the coaching carousel. With the changes coming to college football next year, UCLA would be a very attractive destination for any coach not currently in the SEC or Big Ten.
As for the Bill O'Brien tenure at OSU, though, it was a hell of a ride. He was the final piece for a national title contender and just weeks later, a candle in the wind. We will never forget the BOB era in Columbus.