What we know: Latest on Bill O’Brien

When Ohio State hired Bill O’Brien on January 18, there was a lot of excitement inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center about what the veteran coach could bring to the program and the offense in 2024.

Fast forward 19 days later, and rumors are swirling about O’Brien and Boston College, following the departure of former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to the Green Bay Packers.

There has been a lot of speculation as to the interest level between the two parties, as well as where things are at in the process. Today, we set the record straight and share what we know about O’Brien possibly leaving Ohio State for Boston College’s head coaching vacancy.

BOSTON COLLEGE’S INTEREST

There is no way to know the true list of candidates on Boston College’s short list, but in talking with a couple colleagues that are tied in with BC football, there is no doubt that Bill O’Brien is not only on that list, but at the top of it.

While the Eagles usually don’t go after someone with O’Brien’s pedigree, word from my contacts is that the administration would like to make a splash hire. And while they usually aren’t even able to have someone like BOB consider the position, the stars are aligning here for a variety of reasons (see next section below for more on that).

Right now Bill O’Brien isn’t the only candidate. Names like Paul Chryst, Al Washington, and others have been mentioned, and the school is apparently bringing in a handful of candidates for interviews this week. But from everything I have gathered, it sure looks like O’Brien is the top candidate when it comes to the Eagles’ administration’s preference.

BILL O’BRIEN’S INTEREST

I have talked to many people regarding this situation to try and gauge how real O’Brien’s interest in the Boston College job is since the start of this search. The list of folks I have spoken to include people inside the WHAC, people familiar with the BC program, someone who has coached with O’Brien, and a few different contacts that are connected in the NFL agent world.

O’Brien is a Boston guy through and through. He was born in the city, went to St. John’s Prep in Danver, Massachusetts from 6th through 12th grade, played college ball at Brown (under 1 hour from Boston), and had two different stints spanning six years with the New England Patriots. There is no doubt that Beantown is home for O’Brien and his family.

That said, I am told while that is attractive to BOB, that is not the driver on this one. While he supposedly has a ton of respect for the Boston College program, I don’t think under normal circumstances this is a job he’d automatically take, but what is the big driver here is that O’Brien’s son Jack has a rare brain condition, lissencephaly, and has received treatment for it in the Boston area. From what I have been told, the treatment Jack has been getting and can get in Boston is top-notch, and O’Brien coming to Boston College would allow the family to be together while Jack continues to get treated as he has been.

Long story short, while the Eagles’ opening is one that O’Brien may have looked at but passed on in other years and circumstances, it is now a position that is very attractive because it is one that could be best for his family, while also allowing him to be a head coach once again, doing that in his hometown.

THE CURRENT STATUS

At the time of this article being published, technically everything is “status quo”, but that could change soon.

On Monday, Ohio State had staff meetings, and sources inside the WHAC confirmed to Lettermen Row that O’Brien was not only present, but that he was a full participant. This doesn’t mean O’Brien is staying in Columbus necessarily, but I do believe it means that things aren’t “imminent” as some other reports would suggest. I fully believe things are “hot and heavy” between O’Brien and the Eagles, but again, O’Brien is doing his job with the Buckeyes, no agreement appears to be reached, and the new Ohio State offensive coordinator certainly hasn’t “cleaned out his office”, as has supposedly been reported elsewhere.

Additionally, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, who lives in Boston and is very close to the BC program, the Eagles will be doing two rounds of in-person interviews throughout this week, starting on Tuesday, with a decision on a head coach expected by the end of the weekend.

That information jibes with what I wrote above in that while this certainly could end with O’Brien moving to Chestnut Hill, that right now nothing is “done” between the two parties. I fully expect O’Brien to be a participant in these in-person interviews, so we’ll see how quickly things move following the next day or two on that front.

IS THIS HAPPENING?

If you talk to the Boston-area media, the resounding feeling is that, barring an absolute blunder of this by the Boston College administration, O’Brien will be leaving Ohio State to be the next head coach of the Eagles.

Rich Thompson of the Boston Herald, maybe the most reputable publication in the area, even went as far as to say he was hearing the two sides were down to minor details.

While I actually trust Thamel’s info on this one more than Thompson’s, and think this isn’t as far along, at least officially, as Thompson says, my best guess as of February 6, 20245 at 10 AM ET is that O’Brien will end up being offered the job and accepting it.

There are still other meetings to be had and i’s to dot and t’s to cross, but all of the signs and information are pointing to this being a very real thing between BC and O’Brien, leaving Ohio State to potentially have to find a new offensive coordinator for the upcoming season.

WHAT NEXT FOR OHIO STATE IF O’BRIEN LEAVES?

Should O’Brien leave Ohio State for Boston College, the good thing is it happened quickly. We are not even three weeks from the day that O’Brien was announced as the program’s new offensive coordinator, meaning that virtually the change would not have any significant impact on the program.

Sure, Ryan Day and others would be disappointed about losing a guy they hired for a reason, but because the time has been so short, the pool of candidates virtually remains the same and the intent behind the hire, to bring in someone who can call plays and run the offensive staff room while Day becomes the “CEO of the program”, remains in tact.

On top of that, there are no players currently on the roster that would be impacted negatively from such a move (they’ve barely had time to meet O’Brien). If there was one player who this could affect more than others, it would be Alabama transfer Julian Sayin, but in talking to people close to the program, Sayin’s decision wasn’t made because of Bill O’Brien, that was just an added bonus to the situation in Columbus under Day. I would not expect Sayin to follow O’Brien to Boston College for a variety of reasons, and fully believe he remains put with the Buckeyes.

The more important question that would need to be answered should BOB bolt would be, who does Day hire to replace him?

That is a question I don’t have an answer to, but you better believe that once this became a reality, that Day circled back to his short list before he hired O’Brien and went to work on finding a contingency plan. I do think names that have been thrown out, such as Chip Kelly, Jason Candle, and Brian Johnson, are “real contenders” should the job open, but we’ll be sure to dig for more information if there is actually a vacancy in Columbus.

What we can say is that you can expect Day to move fairly swiftly. Spring practice is just a few weeks away and the Buckeyes will want to get someone into place, should O’Brien leave, as soon as possible.

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