As soon as Josh McDaniels left the Patriots last January to coach the Raiders, Bill O’Brien was floated as an obvious candidate to replace New England’s longtime offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
The Patriots eventually hired O’Brien … but a year later.
Instead, Bill Belichick handed the keys to the offense to Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in 2022, leading to disastrous results in a sub-.500 campaign.
So why did Belichick and the Patriots not hire O’Brien last winter after McDaniels departed for Vegas?
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Belichick didn’t try to pry O’Brien from his previous role as the University of Alabama’s offensive coordinator because of concerns that he would leave New England for another NFL head-coaching gig.