Texans Ex Coach Bill O'Brien Interviews With Patriots; Fit For Bucs, Tom Brady?
Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is in demand from the NFL again.
It's a good development for the former Houston Texans coach, who was fired in 2020 following an 0-4 start preceded by an epic playoff meltdown againstt the Kansas City Chiefs.
O'Brien, who coached star quarterback Bryce Young and projected top first-round draft pick for the Crimson Tide, interviewed Thursday with the New England Patriots for their offensive coordinator job.
While O'Brien, a former Patriots offensive coordinator, is the frontrunner for the job, he could potentially emerge as a candidate to replace Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.
Leftwich was fired Thursday.
O'Brien has a strong relationship with Buccaneers legendary quarterback Tom Brady from coaching him in New England. Brady called O'Brien "teapot" for his famous temper.
A Massachusetts native, O'Brien is considered more likely by league sources to wind up back in New England than in Tampa Bay.
However, it is an interesting potential wrinkle for O'Brien and Brady given their shared history in New England.
The Patriots' list of offensive coordinator candidates includes Keenan McCardell, Shawn Jefferson, Adrian Klemm and Nick Caley.
O’Brien went 52-48 with the Texans and made it to the playoffs four times.
O'Brien had made Alabama his sole focus before their bowl game and has recently been on the road recruiting for coach Nick Saban.
"The focus for me, and this coaching staff, and these players, has really been on these games that we're playing," O'Brien said. "This game coming up, the games we've played this year, the games we played last year. I think those things -- almost every year I've been in coaching, at least over the last 12 years for me, have come up a lot. And those are things that are addressed after the season.
"We are very focused on this game. We've been very focused on every game we've played this year and last year. It's kinda that time of the year when these things come up. I haven't spoken to anybody in New England since probably last April when I went by and saw those guys while I was up there. I wish them well in however many games they have left, but we're very focused on this game and coaching this team to the best of our abilities."
As for Brady, the relationship with O'Brien has always been solid.
“What is always impressive about Tom is how he adapts to the game itself, how he adapts to his team, how he does what’s right for the team,” O’Brien said before a Texans game against the Patriots. “I think that’s huge. You just really have to look at how he plays the games. He gets them into the right plays, he doesn’t turn the ball over, he makes good decisions for the team. He does whatever it takes for the team to win.”
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