Alabama Hires Bill O’Brien As Offensive Coordinator
Former Penn State football head coach Bill O’Brien has found a new home.
The longtime coach was officially hired as Alabama’s offensive coordinator Thursday night. O’Brien was reported as a strong candidate for the job soon after Steve Sarkisian, the Crimson Tides’ former offensive coordinator, took the head coaching spot at Texas.
Welcome to Tuscaloosa!
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) January 21, 2021: https://t.co/FSSQCFYeoY#BamaFactor #RollTide pic.twitter.com/4okPneK95l
O’Brien will also serve as the Crimson Tides’ quarterbacks coach.
Before he became the Houston Texans’ head coach in 2014, O’Brien spent two seasons leading the Nittany Lions. The Dorchester, Massachusetts native came to Happy Valley in January 2012 and helped lead the program through sanctions that followed the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
O’Brien’s “bunch of fighters” finished with an 8-4 overall record in his first season as head coach. He was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year and the Paul “Bear” Bryant College Coach of the Year after that historic campaign.
Before his time in Happy Valley, O’Brien spent a number of years as a coach on the offensive side of the ball. After spending time as a wide receivers and quarterbacks coach with the New England Patriots, O’Brien worked his way up to the team’s offensive coordinator in 2011.
O’Brien finished with a 52-48 overall record over the course of just over six seasons at the helm with Houston. He was fired just four games in to the 2020 campaign after the Texans hit an ugly 0-4 start. Despite a tough close to his time in Houston, O’Brien still managed four playoff appearances as head coach.
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