The New England Patriots may have been interested in Bill O’Brien, the offensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide. But Bill Belichick didn’t go sniffing around the former Houston Texans coach, according to Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard.
New England needed an offensive coordinator after Josh McDaniels joined the Las Vegas Raiders as their new head coach. With O’Brien enjoying a successful season with Alabama, he made sense to take over for McDaniels. O’Brien spent one year as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2011. But the Patriots seem to be going the route of offensive-coordinator-by-committee, with tight ends coach Nick Caley working with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.
Here’s what Bedard wrote on Sunday about why Belichick steered clear of O’Brien:
“Finally got to the bottom of the Bill O’Brien mystery, and why he’s not back here as offensive coordinator. A) O’Brien made a two-year commitment to Saban. B) Belichick just wasn’t going to put Saban, his good friend, in the position of giving his blessing on O’Brien leaving. Sure, you and I can say it shouldn’t be that hard to pick up the phone and say, “Hey Nick, you can just tell me no and I’ll go away … but do you think you could stand to lose Billy?” That seems reasonable and follows the old adage of it never hurts to ask … but Belichick knew that wouldn’t be fair to put Saban in that position, so he didn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole. Now, don’t rule out O’Brien for next season if the Matt Patricia-Joe Judge plan does not work well.”
Makes sense.
Belichick’s relationship with Saban is one of the most important ones in football. So Belichick showed his old friend the respect he deserves by not even going after his offensive coordinator.
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