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Alabama Coach Reportedly Considered 'Top Candidate' For NFL Job

Bill Belichick, Bill O'Brien and Tom Brady

At multiple points during the 2022 season, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots faced criticism for not officially naming an offensive coordinator. 

Contrary to the normal practice of choosing one coach to do the job, Belichick instead opted to have longtime assistants Matt Patricia and Joe Judge work with different parts of the team's offense. 

His plan backfired.

New England's 314.6 yards of offense per game ranked seventh-worst in football in 2022, and further, the Patriots were one of the worst red zone teams in the NFL. They converted a league-worst 42.2 percent of red zone drives into touchdowns. 

While Patricia and Co. haven't officially been moved from their 2022 roles yet, the Patriots did state that they plan on interviewing potential offensive coordinators earlier this week. 

As it turns out, New England did just that. 

According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport this Thursday afternoon, the Patriots have completed an interview with Alabama assistant Bill O'Brien. A New England assistant himself in the late-2000's, O'Brien is also considered to be a "top candidate" for the position.

Beginning his NFL coaching career in 2007, O'Brien got his start with New England as an offensive assistant. He remained in that role for just one season, however, and transitioned into the team's wide receivers coach in 2008. 

A year later, in 2009, O'Brien was named New England's quarterbacks coach. He spent two years in that position before adding Patriots' offensive coordinator title to his resume in 2011. 

O'Brien then left New England following the 2011 season to take the head coaching position at Penn State. He spent two years with the Nittany Lions before moving back to the NFL in 2014, where he coached the Texans until his most recent stint at Alabama.

Under O'Brien's guidance this past season, the Crimson Tide scored, on average, 41.08 points per game. That mark was good for second-best in the SEC and fourth-best in all of the FBS. 

Given O'Brien's history with New England as well as Bill Belichick's willingness to hire former assistants, this fit seems like it could be a slam dunk. 

Expect to hear news about Bill O'Brien's coaching future in the next couple of weeks.