After it was revealed Thursday night that Ohio State would be hiring Bill O’Brien as its offensive coordinator, the school officially announced the hiring Friday.
“I am extremely pleased to be able to add Bill O’Brien to our coaching staff,” head coach Ryan Day said. “He brings with him a wealth of knowledge – and a tremendous amount of success – at both the NFL and collegiate levels. He is an excellent and experienced offensive coach who has run NFL and Power 5 programs and developed some truly elite players throughout his career. He’ll be an excellent teacher and recruiter for us, and he absolutely strengthens our staff.”
Along with the offensive coordinator title, O’Brien will also serve as the quarterbacks coach, and Brian Hartline will be co-offensive coordinator alongside him. Corey Dennis, who was the quarterbacks coach at Ohio State since 2020, will transition into a “still-to-be-determined role” according to a release from Ohio State.
O’Brien has head coaching experience at the NFL level with the Houston Texans, managing a 52-48 record with the team before moving on to Alabama (2021-22) and the New England Patriots (2023) where he held the same positions he does now with the Buckeyes.
The Patriots offense struggled this season, but he has led high-powered offenses in the past, with Bryce Young and the Crimson Tide making it to the 2021 national championship, and offenses with the Patriots from 2007-11 before he was hired at Penn State to be a head coach.
Ohio State still has one assistant coaching position open after it hired O’Brien and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri.
