It’s a new era for the New England Patriots offense after officially reuniting with Bill O’Brien on Tuesday. The former Alabama offensive play-caller has accepted the job as the new offensive coordinator for the Patriots.
Unsurprisingly, the news was met with excitement from both Patriots fans and quarterback Mac Jones, who looked completely unrecognizable under center with Matt Patricia calling the offensive plays in 2022. He went from being lauded as one of the young, up-and-coming quarterbacks to people questioning if the Patriots should move on from him entirely.
It’s always important to note that one move isn’t going to solve every problem for the Patriots, but there’s also no questioning the fact that hiring O’Brien is a huge step in the right direction.
Sure, more work needs to be done, but the Patriots went out and got the best option on their list of offensive coordinator candidates. And that should count as a win for them.
Here are four takeaways from the O’Brien hiring.
1
This is a return to normalcy for New England
This isn’t an attempt to pile on Matt Patricia any higher than he’s already being piled on right now, but it was obvious from the very beginning that the offense wasn’t going to work with him calling the plays.
Of course, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was the one that made the decision to move forward with hiring the former defensive coordinator as the offensive play-caller.
It was like trying to shove a 2×4 into a Jenga puzzle.
The Patriots finished the season with the worst red zone scoring percentage in the NFL (42.2), and the offense regressed to the point where fans were actually booing Mac Jones off the field in favor of rookie fourth-round draft pick Bailey Zappe.
Granted, the latter might still happen if Jones stinks it up under center in 2023, but he’ll at least be in a better position to succeed under O’Brien. The arrival of an experienced offensive play-caller removes the experimental feel and brings back some normalcy to the offense.
2
Be careful what you wish for, Mac Jones
Mac Jones talked about his desire to be coached harder by the Patriots. Well, he’ll get exactly what he asked for with Bill O’Brien.
Just ask Tom Brady.
O’Brien is a fiery coach that will challenge Jones and even match his intensity on the sidelines. So don’t expect a stoic response the next time the Patriots quarterback goes on one of his expletive-laden tirades.
The difference here is the fact that O’Brien has the resume to back it up on the offensive side of the ball. Jones got comfortable questioning the competence of the play-calling under Patricia, but things could play out quite differently with O’Brien wearing the headset.
3
Will O'Brien's past haunt him in New England?
There has been a lingering hope that the Patriots would consider trading for Arizona Cardinals wideout DeAndre Hopkins.
All of the pieces are there for them to pull off the dream trade scenario. Hopkins has a deep respect for coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots should have the cap flexibility to pull off such a move and former Patriots executive Monti Ossenfort is the Cardinals’ new general manager.
But could that all become meaningless with O’Brien being hired as offensive coordinator?
O’Brien was the man that shipped Hopkins off to the Cardinals in the puzzling trade that initiated the tanking of the Houston Texans’ franchise.
“There was no relationship,” Hopkins told Sports Illustrated back in 2020, when talking about O’Brien. “Make sure you put that in there. There’s not a lot to speak about.”
Only time will tell if Hopkins’ shaky past with O’Brien would nix any chances of the two potentially having a future together in New England.
4
O'Brien should be given full offensive latitude
The title means everything when it comes to these coaching hires, and the fact that O’Brien was named “offensive coordinator” is saying something.
Belichick will likely give O’Brien full latitude in the offense in an effort to get things back on track. That trust has obviously been earned through years of experience and a deeply connected coaching history. This isn’t O’Brien’s first rodeo in New England, and he’ll fit in right away.
The Patriots will still need to find an offensive line coach and avoid the tendency of having assistant coaches micromanage everything like Belichick. O’Brien has arrived, but he’ll need a complete supportive staff in place to ensure things run smoothly in 2023.
