Ex-Penn State football head coach Bill O’Brien linked to late opening ACC job

Former Penn State football head coach Bill O’Brien may soon find himself leading a college program once again. On Wednesday night, the ex-Nittany Lions coach was mentioned as a potential candidate for the Boston College opening, made available with the decision from Jeff Hafley to take the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator job in the NFL. O’Brien just made his transition back to the college game and the Big Ten specifically, accepting the Ohio State offensive coordinator position in January.

Bill O’Brien viewed as a potential candidate to replace Jeff Hafley at Boston College, per reports

Just as the head coaching carousel had seemingly slowed to a stop for the offseason, it picked back up again Wednesday when Boston College coach Jeff Hafley announced his departure for the NFL. Hafley will run the Green Bay Packers defense after leading the Eagles to three six-win regular seasons in four years.

Now, Boston College must find a replacement with spring practice very close on the horizon. One potential candidate for the late opening could be a name that is quite familiar to the Penn State football program. On Wednesday night, Chris Vannini of The Athletic painted former Nittany Lions coach and current Ohio State coordinator Bill O’Brien as an attractive hire.

“Ohio State offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien just got to Columbus, but he’s been interested in several head coaching jobs over the years,” writes Vannini. “O’Brien is a Boston native who spent six years with the New England Patriots over two stints, including this past year as offensive coordinator. He went 15-9 as Penn State head coach while taking the job amid sanctions from the Jerry Sandusky scandal, so he’s been a college head coach in a difficult spot. As the Houston Texans head coach from 2014 to 2020, he won four division championships in seven seasons.”

Will James Franklin see his Penn State predecessor in 2024?

Given Bill O’Brien’s strong ties to New England, slotting him in to replace Jeff Hafley at Boston College would make sense. But this would create a sticky situation for Big Ten rival Ohio State. Ryan Day tapped O’Brien to lead the Ohio State offense in mid-January after serving as offensive coordinator for Alabama and the Patriots since his departure from the Texans.

If Bill O’Brien does decide to stay in Columbus, it’ll add an interesting dynamic for when Penn State football takes on the Buckeyes in 2024. Obviously, James Franklin facing the man who sat in his office before him adds a new wrinkle to the game. But the pair have a pre-existing relationship from their time on the Maryland staff in the early 2000s.

In fact, O’Brien played a critical role when James Franklin took over the Penn State football program in 2014. “The other thing that I don’t think a lot of people realize is, me and Billy O’Brien were pretty close,” Franklin said on the Next Up with Adam Breneman podcast last summer. “We were on the same staff at the University of Maryland. So, I was able to talk to him probably about 10 times before taking the job to kind of have an understanding of what I was walking into in terms of the players and things like that.”

With or without Bill O’Brien, Penn State football faces Ohio State in Beaver Stadium on November 2.

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