5 things to know about Ohio State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien
Ohio State has a new offensive coordinator.
The Buckeyes are hiring former NFL head coach Bill O'Brien as its offensive coordinator, a source told The Dispatch Thursday, replacing quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis.
Here's what you need to know about Ohio State's new offensive coordinator.
Bill O'Brien replaced Joe Paterno at Penn State
After 19 seasons as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator in both college football and in the NFL, O'Brien's first head coaching opportunity came with Penn State in 2012.
After Joe Paterno was dismissed in 2011 in the fallout of former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested and charged with 52 counts of sexual abuse of young boys, O'Brien was hired as the program's 15th head coach.
In 2012, O'Brien led Penn State to an 8-4 record and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and the Paul "Bear" Bryant College Coach of the Year.
In two seasons at Penn State, O'Brien's teams finished 15-9. He lost to Ohio State in both 2012 and 2013.
Bill O'Brien was the Houston Texans' head coach
O'Brien's two-year stint at Penn State turned into seven seasons as the Houston Texans' head coach.
O'Brien led the Texans to 54 wins in 106 games from 2014-20. In his career, the Texans made the playoffs four times, beating the Oakland Raiders in the Wild Card round in 2016, and the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round in 2019.
During O'Brien's tenure, the Texans won the AFC South four times.
O'Brien was fired after the Texans started the 2020 season winless through four games.
Bill O'Brien went to a national championship with Alabama
In his return to the offensive coordinator post, O'Brien led the best offense in the Southeastern Conference.
O'Brien became Nick Saban's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama in 2021, helping the Crimson Tide to have the No. 1 total offense in the SEC: averaging 488.3 yards of total offense per game.
O'Brien and Alabama finished the 2021 season in the College Football Playoff after winning the SEC Championship. But after a 27-6 win against Cincinnati in the CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, the Crimson Tide lost to Georgia in the national championship game: Saban's final national championship appearance with Alabama.
In 2022, Alabama had the fourth-best total offense in the SEC behind Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi.
Bill O'Brien worked under Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots
O'Brien spent four seasons with the New England Patriots from 2007-11, starting as an offensive assistant before becoming the team's wide receivers coach (2008), quarterbacks coach (2009-11) and offensive coordinator (2011).
O'Brien returned to Bill Belichick's staff in 2023 as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and led a Patriots offense that scored 27 touchdowns: the third-fewest in the NFL.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State hires Bill O'Brien as offensive coordinator: What to know
