No Mayo: Details Revealed On O'Brien's Patriots Exit
Once again, the New England Patriots are in search of a new offensive coordinator.
The Patriots have had a revolving door at offensive coordinator over the past few years. Josh McDaniels held the role in 2021, then they didn't have a true offensive coordinator in 2022 while Matt Patricia called the plays for some reason, and most recently, Bill O'Brien held the title in 2023.
With the Patriots entering a new era under Jerod Mayo, O'Brien decided to return to the college ranks once more and accept the same position with the Ohio State Buckeyes. While New England looks for a new coordinator once again, some details surrounding O'Brien's departure have come to light, courtesy of Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal.
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“A team source told me that O’Brien and the Patriots were facing off a bit, that neither side was really interested in continuing the relationship but the Patriots were open to it depending on O’Brien,” Bedard wrote.
The story goes a bit deeper than that, though. SI's Albert Breer reports that O'Brien's exit wasn't only due to differences between him and the front office, but also a change in philosophy under Mayo.
“The Patriots will conduct interviews with Los Angeles Rams assistants Nick Caley and Zac Robinson on Monday and Tuesday for their open offensive coordinator job,” Breer wrote. “And while both have Patriots ties, this is, indeed, a sign of how open-minded Jerod Mayo is going to be filling out his staff. That’s not to say Mayo won’t have trusted lieutenants (Belichick’s sons have strong relationships with Mayo, and both have job offers from him). But it is indicative of how Mayo has not locked himself in on any ideas in any phase of the game. And why Bill O’Brien took the OC job at Ohio State rather than the chance to compete for a job he already had.”
The Patriots' offense under O'Brien, who previously held the same position in 2011, was historically bad, finishing 30th in yards for and 31st in points for. With a new coach in tow, it made sense to reboot the offense as well.
New England has wasted no time getting to work on finding a new offensive coordinator. In addition to Caley and Robinson, the Patriots are also interviewing Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher.
