5 offensive coordinators Alabama can hire if Bill O’Brien leaves for Patriots

Current Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien reportedly might leave for the Patriots this offseason and the Crimson Tide need to upgrade their OC.

There are undoubtedly Alabama Crimson Tide fans who already wish that the program had done whatever possible to move on from offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. Complaints have been prevalent about his offense over the past two years, and that’s even with having Bryce Young to mask many of the flaws.

But now it appears that O’Brien might do them a favor.

According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Bill O’Brien is among the leading candidates to take over as the New England Patriots offensive coordinator next season amid the team’s struggles offensively under Matt Patricia.

Whether or not that’s a smart move for Bill Belichick is irrelevant to Alabama fans who would simply rejoice at the notion of him no longer being in Tuscaloosa. And that would give them the opportunity to upgrade at offensive coordinator, which should bring these five potential replacements into play.

Table of Contents

• Introduction: Another Riley whose star is on the rise
• Page 2: This strategy definitely worked at TCU
• Page 3: A former SEC head coach Alabama might need
• Page 4: An underrated gem from the ACC the Crimson Tide would love
• Page 5: Maybe the most obvious option for Alabama

Alabama football: 5 Bill O’Brien replacements to upgrade if OC leaves for Patriots

There’s no reason for Alabama to doubt that Garrett Riley would thrive

The younger brother of USC head coach Lincoln Riley, Garrett Riley has been a rising star in the coaching ranks in recent years. He began his career as a graduate assistant for East Carolina back in 2013 and has risen up the ranks since with stops at Kansas, Appalachian State, SMU and now TCU.

Riley has served as the offensive coordinator at SMU and TCU alongside Sonny Dykes since 2020 and the results can’t be argued with. This past season on the run to the College Football Playoff berth, the Horned Frogs were 15th in yards per game and sixth in points per game. In 2021 with the Mustangs, the offense was 13th in yards and 10th in scoring. In 2020, it was 12th in yards and 15th in scoring.

When you then consider the talent that Riley was working with in those offenses — albeit against lesser competition than in the SEC — that’s wildly impressive. It also has to make Crimson Tide fans start to salivate at the notion of what he could potentially accomplish with the talent that Alabama can accrue.

Riley was discussed for some head coaching vacancies this offseason but is still at TCU for now. However, the timing of the Patriots’ season ending and potentially relieving Alabama of O’Brien could line up perfectly with the Horned Frogs’ season being over and bringing Riley onto Saban’s staff.