Nick Saban has made a habit of hiring former head coaches to his Alabama staff, and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien is in his second year running the offense.

O’Brien has previously been a head coach at Penn State and with the Houston Texans, and told reporters this week that he chose to come to Alabama, and stay, because of the staff, led by Saban, and the kind of players he can coach.

O’Brien was asked about NFL opportunities he was mentioned for as a possibility in the offseason, and said he made a commitment to Saban. O’Brien also recalled the offer from Saban, and he said it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“What it says about Coach Saban to hire guys that have run programs before is that he is very confident in his own ability,” O’Brien said. “He wants to hire what he believes in the best of the best out there. Whatever it is. Coaches, support staff around him. And he wants to make sure he’s doing everything he can to help the players get better.

“I think when you see his track record of who he’s hired here. He’s had some great staffs here and he’s very confident in what he does, his process and obviously, that’s been proven through time and it’s been great to be part of it.”