Bill O’Brien Details BC Football’s Transfer Portal Moves, Revenue Sharing, and 2026 Outlook
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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — For the first time since the end of the 2025 season, Boston College football head coach Bill O’Brien addressed the media for a post-transfer-portal press conference at Fish Fieldhouse, the program’s indoor practice facility.
Going into his third year at the helm after the Eagles went 2-10 and 1-7 in conference play in 2025, O’Brien began his address with a formal listing of every mid-year transfer and mid-year enrollee from BC’s 2026 signing class, which totaled out to 35 players overall — 27 from the portal and eight freshmen.
O’Brien dove into subjects like what the recruiting process looks like during the transfer-portal window, which opened on Jan. 2 and closed Jan. 16, to revenue share and his outlook on the Eagles’ revamped 2026 roster, coaching staff, and front office.
Here is a breakdown of O’Brien’s comments and responses to questions stemming from the aforementioned areas.
O’Brien on revenue sharing:
While O’Brien did not get into the specifics of BC’s financial commitment to athletics, specifically football, he said that the program is receiving more resources in 2026 than it did in years prior.
“That’s probably a question for somebody above me,” O’Brien said. “I’m not trying to avoid the question, [but] I’m the football coach. We are participating in [revenue sharing], definitely more than we’ve had in the past. [It's a] very fair question, but I do think that that’s more of a question for [BC athletics director] Blake [James] and somebody above me that can explain it in detail.”
Revenue sharing, which was officially brought to reality in 2025, has enabled NCAA Division I colleges and universities who opted into House vs. NCAA Settlement to directly share athletic department revenue with student-athletes in the form of direct payment.
It is different from Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation because NIL deals are earnings from third-party companies, such as sponsorships, endorsements, booster collectives, or paid social media campaigns.
For the first year, schools that opted into using revenue sharing — particularly from the Power-4 conferences (SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12) — could use up to $20.5 million, but that amount is expected to increase up to $32 million over the next decade.
The only aspect of revenue sharing that is technically under O’Brien’s discretion is how to distribute the money that the football program receives from the university, although O’Brien did not disclose that amount.
“I do think it’s more than that,” O’Brien said. “I think there’s ways to go about this other than just money. I think it’s about the school and what the school can do for you as a student-athlete here. But yes, we’re definitely participating in [revenue sharing].”
O’Brien on the transfer portal:
Realistically speaking, after losing 31 former players after the 2025 campaign ended, O’Brien was left with no other option but to aggressively pursue portal transfers this offseason.
That is exactly why he brought in former BC football wide receiver and return specialist Kenyatta Watson, who previously served as Auburn football’s assistant general manager after a stint with Georgia Tech, to become the Eagles’ general manager moving forward.
"He knows a lot of people,” O’Brien said. “He’s been in this business for a long time. In college football, but also what he did relative to Under Armour and all that. He’s been around. He knows high school coaches, I would say, in every state. He knows prospects and guys that he’s recruited over many, many years in every single state.”
Bill O’Brien’s full response to a question about the impact Kenyatta Watson (@therealkwat) has made so far as @BCFootball’s general manager and why transfer-portal recruiting is like “speed dating.”
— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) January 20, 2026
More to come on @BostonCollegeSI. pic.twitter.com/Uo5uOYDLQu
“He’s able to connect. He knows parents, he knows the coaches, he knows the people that are responsible for these guys. The connections that he brings are invaluable."
That was clearly the case, as Watson, along with the rest of the recruiting staff — notably assistant general manager Julian Rowe-Cohen — worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to rebuild the production that BC lost from graduation and outgoing transfers.
O’Brien said the staff welcomed roughly 40-50 players from the portal to visit campus and tour the facilities, and that the operation that went into these lightning-quick trips was akin to “speed dating.”
“They come in, it’s a 24, maybe a 36-hour deal,” O’Brien said. “You’ve got to get flights. They’re bringing their parents in, their families, some of them brought their coaches with them. It’s a team effort."
With so many players that are brand new to the program, the focus is to build an atmosphere that gels as hastily as possible.
"The big adjustment is really diving in and getting to know these guys, connecting with these guys,” O’Brien said. “When you watch the teams that are winning, if you watched the game last night, that Indiana team is very connected. They know each other really well, they play for each other. I think that’s a big deal of what we’re trying to do right now."
O’Brien on his coaching hires:
On top of the mid-year transfer additions and freshmen enrollees, O’Brien dove into the brand new cast of coaches on his staff this year.
That group consists of first-time defensive coordinator Ted Roof, first-time running backs coach Mike Hart, first-time offensive line coach Kurt Anderson, and wide receivers coach Joe Dailey — who worked at BC from 2020-21 as the wide receivers coach and served as a “consultant” this past season.
As of Tuesday morning, O’Brien also needs to find a new offensive play caller, as former offensive coordinator Will Lawing reportedly left to take a position with the Chicago Bears.
O’Brien speaking on all of the coaching/staff changes, from OC Will Lawing reportedly going to the @ChicagoBears to Ted Roof becoming the Eagles’ new DC to Berj Najarian leaving the program. pic.twitter.com/OrUv60rQVT
— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) January 20, 2026
"[Lawing’s] been with me for a long time,” O’Brien said. “He would describe that as dog years. He had a great opportunity to go work with Ben [Johnson]. He went to North Carolina with Ben, and obviously the Bears are doing a great job. We wish him the best."
On Roof: “This is my fourth stint with Ted. He’s really good with the players, got a lot of great experience, knows how to coach the defense, he played, he was a great player at Georgia Tech. He’s been around a lot of great players and he knows how to scheme it up.”
O’Brien on the tape of 2025:
"We turned the ball over too much. We didn’t tackle very well. I don’t think we blocked very well up front on offense. I don’t think we played the run as good as we could have on defense. Look, there’s a lot we have to improve on. I thought special teams, for the most part, was decent and has a lot to build on there."
"This is a brand-new team. A lot of these guys weren’t even here."
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Graham Dietz is a 2025 graduate of Boston College and subsequently joined Boston College On SI. He previously served as an editor for The Heights, the independent student newspaper, from fall 2021, including as Sports Editor from 2022-23. Graham works for The Boston Globe as a sports correspondent, covering high school football, girls' basketball, and baseball. He was also a beat writer for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 2023.
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