Patriots Hire Bill O'Brien Protégé
Where there's a 'Bill,' there's a 'Will.'
Just one week after being officially named the team's offensive coordinator, Bill O'Brien is already putting his own stamp on the New England Patriots coaching staff.
Per a Thursday evening report from ESPN’s Mike Reiss, longtime O'Brien associate Will Lawing is joining the Pats as an offensive assistant.
The 37-year-old began his coaching career as a tight ends coach at Juniata College in 2009. Over the next three seasons, his role would increase from passing game coordinator (2010) to offensive coordinator (2011-12), while competing in the Centennial Conference.
Lawing first served under O'Brien in 2013 as a graduate assistant during the latter's head coaching stint with the Penn State Nittany Lions. When O'Brien accepted the same position with the Houston Texans in 2014, Lawing remained at his side as defensive quality control coach. He was promoted to assistant offensive line coach in 2017 and 2018, before being named the team’s tight ends coach in 2019.
Following O'Brien's departure from Houston in 2021, Lawing once again followed him to the University of Alabama where he spent the last two seasons as a football analyst.
Though his role in New England has yet to be confirmed, Lawing's experience with tight ends makes him a potential candidate to replace Nick Caley. The 40-year-old tight ends coach, whose Patriots contract expired this offseason, interviewed with the Houston Texans Wednesday for a spot on the staff of newly-hired head coach DeMeco Ryans.
Conversely, O'Brien will be charged with the duty of repairing what had become a fractured offense under the direction of ex-play caller, Matt Patricia. In his lone season at the command post, the Pats offense regressed from one showing significant promise (in 2021) to a subpar unit dwelling among the NFL's bottom teams. The 2022 iteration of Patriots finished 7th-worst in total yards while scoring only 21.4 points per game (17th in the NFL).
Even with Lawing's hiring, New England still has a staff vacancy at offensive line coach. The team has reportedly interviewed current Buffalo Bills’ assistant coach, and former Patriots offensive lineman, Ryan Wendell, as well as University of Oregon coach, and fellow ex-Pats lineman, Adrian Klemm.
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots
New England and beyond! Get your Patriots game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!
Follow Patriots Country on Twitter and Facebook
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Patriots? Click Here
More Patriots coverage from Sports Illustrated here.
