University of Alabama Athletics

Bill O'Brien joined head coach Nick Saban's staff in January of 2021 to serve as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after six-plus years as the head coach of the NFL's Houston Texans.

O'Brien inherits an Alabama offense that will have to replace Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, record-setting quarterback Mac Jones and Doak Walker Award winning running back Najee Harris along with two unanimous All-American offensive linemen. John Metchie III returns to anchor the receiver room while Emil Ekiyor Jr. and Evan Neal return on the offensive line to help open holes for running back Brian Robinson Jr.

In addition to his role as head coach, O'Brien was also the Texans general manager for one season (2020) and compiled a 52-48 (.520) record with four AFC South titles, four playoff appearances and two appearances in the AFC Divisional Round. Houston was one of just three teams in the NFL to win four division titles from 2015-2019 (Kansas City and New England), and its 21 wins over the 2018 and 2019 seasons were the second-most in a two-year span in franchise history (22 wins from 2011-12).

O'Brien's offenses in Houston proved to be balanced and potent with the Texans ranking in the top 10 in the league in rushing yards to pair with quarterback Deshaun Watson, who threw for 4,165 yards in 2018 and 3,852 yards in 2019. The 2019 team featured a 3,500-yard passer (Watson), a 1,000-yard rusher (Carlos Hyde) and a 1,000-yard receiver (DeAndre Hopkins) for just the fourth time in franchise history. Under O'Brien, Watson grew into a two-time Pro Bowler and the only player in NFL history to record consecutive seasons (2018-19) with at least 25 passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns.

The Texans won the division in 2018 with an 11-5 mark, going 11-2 over the team's final 13 games with another potent offense and six Pro Bowlers. Under O'Brien's tutelage in 2017, Watson put together a historic rookie season despite playing in just seven games before sustaining a season-ending injury. He set NFL records for the most passing touchdowns (19) through a player's first seven career games and for the most passing touchdowns (18, Weeks 3-8) by a rookie over any five-game span in league history. At the time of his injury, the Texans featured the league's highest-scoring offense (30.7 points per game).

In his first three years (2014-16), O'Brien led the Texans to three straight winning seasons for the first time in franchise history and back-to-back AFC South division championships. He became just the 14th coach since 1978 to begin his NFL head coaching career with three consecutive winning seasons.

Prior to joining the Texans, O'Brien took on one of the tallest tasks in college football history when he was named head coach at Penn State on Jan. 6, 2012. He spent two years leading the Nittany Lions program, posting a 15-9 overall record and a 10-6 mark in the Big Ten, while garnering national and conference Coach of the Year awards.

Penn State won eight of its final 10 games to finish the 2012 season with an 8-4 record. O'Brien, who also served as offensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions, was named the Bear Bryant, Maxwell Football Club and ESPN National Coach of the Year after winning more games than any other first-year head coach in the program's previous 125 seasons.

A member of the Patriots' coaching staff from 2007-11, O'Brien helped lead New England to a pair of Super Bowl berths. He rose from offensive assistant to wide receivers coach in 2008 and then quarterbacks coach from 2009-10 prior to being named offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2011. The Patriots earned the top seed in the AFC with a 13-3 record and advanced to Super Bowl XLVI with O'Brien coordinating the offense in 2011. New England led the AFC in scoring with 32.1 points per game and was second in the NFL in total offense (428.0 yards per game) and passing (317.8). Quarterback Tom Brady threw for a career-high 5,235 yards (second in NFL) and 39 touchdowns during that 2011 campaign.

In O'Brien's second season as quarterbacks coach with the Patriots in 2010, Brady was selected as the first unanimous Associated Press NFL MVP after leading the team to an NFL-best 14-2 mark. While O'Brien was his position coach from 2009-11, Brady led the AFC in attempts (1,668), completions (1,096), touchdown passes (103), interception percentage (1.7) and passer rating (104.0) while ranking second in the conference in passing yards (13,533).

He last served as a college offensive coordinator at Duke during the 2005-06 seasons. Prior to his time with the Blue Devils, O'Brien was the running backs coach at Maryland (2004) after spending eight years at Georgia Tech in a myriad of roles, including graduate assistant, running backs, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks and assistant head coach (1995-2002). O'Brien started his career at Brown, coaching the tight ends in 1993 and the inside linebackers in 1994.

The native of Dorchester, Mass., O'Brien played linebacker and defensive end at Brown from 1990-92 and graduated with a double concentration in political science and organizational behavioral management in 1992. O'Brien and his wife, Colleen, have two sons, Jack and Michael.