Ryan Day hopeful to keep ex-Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien on Ohio State staff

Former Penn State football coach Bill O’Brien appears poised to rejoin the college head coaching ranks any day. Multiple reports have the ex-Nittany Lions and Houston Texans head coach as the leading candidate for the recently opened Boston College position. But according to his current employer, nothing is set in stone just yet. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day spoke to the media on Wednesday, where he opened up about O’Brien’s status for the first time and discussed what is next for the Buckeyes’ offense if he needs to find a second offensive coordinator of the offseason. 

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day: “No real updates” on Bill O’Brien

The slowing college football coaching carousel was spun back into motion last week when Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley announced his departure for the NFL. Almost immediately, former Penn State football coach Bill O’Brien was pegged as a likely candidate to be Hafley’s replacement.

O’Brien is a Boston native who has spent over a half-decade on the New England Patriots’ coaching staff. Access to local medical facilities where O’Brien’s son, Jack, can receive treatment for a rare brain condition known as lissencephaly is also thought to be a key factor in his decision. 

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Boston College is set to conduct a second round of interviews in the next 48 hours. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reports that O’Brien is one of two finalists for the opening. 

Hearing Boston College is now down to two candidates in its head coaching search. Ohio State OC Bill O'Brien is one of them: https://t.co/IFsMNlqfq1https://t.co/IFsMNlqfq1

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 7, 2024

But according to Ryan Day, there’s nothing to report yet. The Ohio State head coach spoke to the media on Wednesday, where he addressed the Bill O’Brien speculation for the first time. 

“No real updates there,” Day said when asked about the situation. “He’s working here today, and we’ll kind of see how it goes. He’s in the building right now.”

Will James Franklin get to face off against a former Penn State football coach this season?

Bill O’Brien’s hiring at Ohio State last month added another compelling storyline to the November 2 matchup for Penn State football. 

In addition to facing off against his predecessor in Happy Valley, James Franklin and Bill O’Brien were colleagues on the Maryland staff in the early 2000s. Franklin even leaned on O’Brien’s advice when considering the Penn State job after O’Brien left for the Houston Texans after the 2013 season. 

But if the current reports are to be believed, then the matchup between the current and former Penn State football coach may not be in the cards, after all. Having only hired O’Brien less than a month ago, Ryan Day expressed that Ohio State is ready if the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator position opens up again. However, Day remained optimistic that he won’t have to reopen the search. 

“We did talk to different people [before hiring O’Brien], and we will have contingency plans in place,” Day said. “Hopefully, we don’t have to go down that road, though.”

Boston College is expected to make a decision by this weekend. Bill O’Brien went a combined 15-9 in two seasons after replacing Joe Paterno as Penn State football coach in 2012. He then went 52-48 in seven years with the Texans. 

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