Chip Kelly’s offense with Ohio State’s football talent could be a lethal combination, but we will have to wait and see just how well the new offensive coordinator works in Columbus with the Buckeyes. It is worth noting that Bill O’Brien, as an offensive coordinator with Nick Saban at Alabama, helped the Crimson Tide reach the national championship game in the 2021 season. It has been a long time since Chip Kelly coached in a national championship game. That was back in the 2010 season and January of 2011 for the Oregon Ducks against the Auburn Tigers.
It is worth asking: Who is the better Big Ten offensive coordinator and the better fit at Ohio State: Chip Kelly or Bill O’Brien?
When Bill O’Brien was offensive coordinator for Alabama in 2021, he guided Bryce Young, the Southern California product who went to Tuscaloosa to play for Saban. As it turned out, that 2021 Alabama team was the last Saban-coached team to play in a national championship game. Saban’s last Bama team in 2023 came one stop short of the title round, losing to Michigan in the playoff semifinals at the Rose Bowl.
Bill O’Brien getting to the national title is a notable achievement, but that Alabama offense in 2021 was a far cry from the 2020 Alabama offense which averaged over 48 points per game under coordinator Steve Sarkisian. Alabama wasn’t nearly as productive in 2021, averaging roughly 8.5 fewer points per contest.
Everyone will debate if Chip Kelly has lost his fastball, or if being a coordinator is exactly the job which suits him today. He won’t have to recruit. He can just call plays for Ryan Day. Is that better than Bill O’Brien? We’ll never really know, but we can say that Chip Kelly has a lot to prove at Ohio State.
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