Ohio State officially announced that long-time coach Bill O’Brien as its new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
According to the team, O’Brien will stand alongside Brian Hartline as co-offensive coordinator. Hartline was the offensive coordinator and receivers coach for the Buckeyes for the 2023 season.
O’Brien is coming off a year as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the New England Patriots, working alongside Bill Belichick in Belichick’s final season with the team.
Before his one-year stint in New England, O’Brien was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Nick Saban at Alabama for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In his time at Alabama, he led the team to have the No. 6 ranked offense in 2021 and the No. 4 ranked offense in 2022.
Welcome to the Buckeye Family 🌰
#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/hXyn4woHzr— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) January 19, 2024
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day had nothing but positive things to say about O’Brien when the news was released, stating:
“I am extremely pleased to be able to add Bill O’Brien to our coaching staff. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge – and a tremendous amount of success – at both the NFL and collegiate levels. He is an excellent and experienced offensive coach who has run NFL and Power 5 programs and developed some truly elite players throughout his career. He’ll be an excellent teacher and recruiter for us, and he absolutely strengthens our staff.”
The team is excited by its new addition, as it aims to get back into the College Football Playoffs in 2024. The Buckeyes finished the 2023 season 11-2 and lost to Missouri 14-3 in the 2023 Sugar Bowl.