Alabama's next offensive coordinator? Nick Saban praises Bill O'Brien's ability to coach
With Steve Sarkisian off to Texas, Nick Saban’s first big offseason task is landing a new offensive coordinator.
Replacing the reigning Broyles Award winner won’t be easy but it appears Saban has a big-name hire he’s ready to make, as multiple outlets are reporting that former Houston Texans and Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien is closing in on the job.
During a Wednesday appearance on a Zoom call, Saban shared some praise for the job O’Brien did coaching the Texans.
“I think he did a really good job in Houston when he was the head coach. I think when he became the GM, things didn’t go exactly how he would’ve like having both roles. I know how difficult it is to do both, probably impossible,” Saban said according to Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News.
O’Brien coached in Houston for six and a half seasons, with a 52-48 overall record with the franchise. Before taking over in Houston, O’Brien led Penn State to a 15-9 record immediately after the Joe Paterno scandal that left the program on sanctions.
If there are any Alabama fans doubting how good of a coach O’Brien can be leading the offense in Tuscaloosa, it’s good to know the coach appears to have Saban’s seal of approval.
I’m not questioning Saban on anything. He’s more than proven he makes good decisions. If he thinks O’Brien is the guy I’m good with it. I just hope with Saban’s help he makes better decisions if or when he comes to T-Town and lead our offense.
Well, I was less than blown away when Sark was hired…that is WHY CNS is where he is by making great hires.
I Highly respect Coach Saban but I am not confident BoB is the right fit for the program. I would prefer Tom Herman from Texas. It’s possibly funny that the 2 coaches would switch jobs but Herman is a VERY good offensive coach, and under Coach Nick Saban he could learn how to be a much better head coach in the future. I would just LOVE for Alabama to hire an OC that gets a 2+4 year contract, so they are forced to remain the OC hopefully get the guy that can remain for years to come and then take over the program once Nick decides to retire (which I hope is many many years from now) I am just tired of coaches leaving Coach Saban to take Head coaching jobs elsewhere. If they do they should be contractually obligated to coach outside the SEC. It stinks for Coach Saban to train an assistant coach up and then have to play and recruit against them in the same conference. Can’t they require assistants to sign a non-compete agreement?
UTA is paying Herman $15M to not coach, so he’d be crazy to do anything right now.
People forget what a great job O’Brien did at Penn St, under the worst possible conditions. The offenses at Houston have been stellar, which they should be with Watson at QB. We need to stop dwelling on the Deandre Hopkins trade. No NFL coach does well as a GM. Imagine dealing with those personalities and selfish players. Signing huge contracts and wanting to renegotiate with 3 years left. He is a better fit for the QB’s coming in than Herman.
Good to hear. Roll Tide.