Bill O'Brien set to join Big Ten powerhouse as offensive coordinator

Former Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien is returning to the Big Ten for the 2024 season. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, O'Brien is set to become the new offensive coordinator at Ohio State. 

He will join Ryan Day's staff in a move that, according to Thamel, will allow Day to give up play-calling responsibilities on game day. 

O'Brien spent the 2023 season as the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, producing one of the NFL's worst offenses. Prior to working for the Patriots, he spent two years as the offensive coordinator at Alabama, helping to produce a Heisman Trophy performance from Bryce Young.

He also has extensive head-coaching experience at both the NCAA and NFL levels. He was Penn State's head coach during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, then Houston Texans HC between 2014 and 2020. 

Even though O'Brien had a brutal showing as the Patriots offensive coordinator this past season, that probably shouldn't be held against him too much. The Patriots offense was a mess in terms of talent, and O'Brien has had a lot of success in college in producing top-tier offenses. His Alabama offenses ranked fourth and sixth in the country, respectively, in terms of points per game, while he was the national Coach of the Year in 2012 when he was the head coach at Penn State. 

Ohio State won 11 games during the 2023 season but saw its offense take a huge step backward following the departure of quarterback C.J. Stroud to the NFL. The Buckeyes finished the year 45th in the country in points per game (30.5), a significant drop from 2022 season they finished second in the country (44.2 points per game).

This season ended on a down note as the Buckeyes lost their final two games of the season, including an ugly showing in the Cotton Bowl where they lost 14-3 to Missouri.

The Buckeyes offense lost starting quarterback Kyle McCord in the transfer portal to Syracuse, while star wide receiver — and Heisman Trophy finalist — Marvin Harrison Jr. declared for the NFL Draft.

Ohio State did land a top transfer quarterback in Will Howard who is expected to compete for the starting job.