Bill Belichick’s first order of offseason business wasn’t to pick up the phone and call up old friend Bill O’Brien.
NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran reported Tuesday that there’s been “still no contact” between the New England Patriots and O’Brien, who’s been viewed as a prime candidate to take over as their offensive coordinator.
O’Brien, who recently completed his second season as OC at Alabama, last month said he had not been in contact with the Patriots since April when he visited Gillette Stadium. He has prior experience leading the Patriots’ offense, serving as their offensive coordinator in 2011 after calling plays as their quarterbacks coach in 2009 and 2010.
Multiple prominent reporters have linked the 53-year-old Andover, Mass., native to New England, with NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport calling him a “strong option” to replace Matt Patricia and Curran saying O’Brien “probably” will be hired.
The Patriots did not have an official offensive coordinator this season. With Patricia calling plays and Joe Judge coaching QBs, they fielded one of the NFL’s least efficient offenses after ranking in or near the top 10 in most metrics under Josh McDaniels in 2021.
Belichick’s held his end-of-season news conference Monday and dodged multiple questions about whether he plans to replace Patricia and/or Judge this offseason. Belichick said he will “evaluate everything” as he resets for 2023 and that that process would begin Monday.
Team owner Robert Kraft was unhappy with the Patriots’ on-field product this season and reportedly could push Belichick to make changes — perhaps sweeping ones — to his offensive staff.
If the Patriots want O’Brien, they’ll likely need to move quickly. The former Houston Texans head coach has been rumored as a candidate for OC jobs in Tennessee, Tampa Bay and elsewhere. To hire O’Brien or any other external candidate as a coordinator or QB coach, the Patriots also would need to interview at least one minority applicant to satisfy the NFL’s Rooney Rule.
