St. John's Prep's Bill O'Brien Back As Patriots Offensive Coordinator

FOXBORO, MA — Bill O'Brien, a St. John's Prep of Danvers alumnus who grew up in Andover, is coming back to Foxboro as the new New England Patriots offensive coordinator, according to multiple national reports.

O'Brien served as the Patriots' offensive coordinator and Tom Brady's quarterback coach from 2009 to 2011 before leaving to help resurrect the flailing Penn State University program in the wake of a sex scandal. He went on to coach and run football operations for the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020.

O'Brien spent the past two years as the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama where he was briefly on campus with current Patriots quarterback Mac Jones as Jones prepared for the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Patriots took Jones at No. 15 that year and he quickly supplanted former NFL Most Valuable Player Cam Newton as the team's starter. But after making the playoffs as a rookie, Jones and the Patriots stumbled this past season under the guidance of converted defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and special teams coach Joe Judge.

The Patriots released a rare statement on the state of their coaching staff shortly after the season ended — saying they intended to interview for and fill the offensive coordinator position for next season. O'Brien was interviewed last week along with assistant coach Nick Caley, and former players Keenan McCardell, Shawn Jefferson and Adrian Klemm.

O'Brien was widely seen as the favorite to return if he wanted the job.

As of mid-morning on Tuesday, the Patriots had yet to confirm the hire.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)