The inevitable is finally a reality ... Bill O'Brien is back as Patriots offensive coordinator.
Our long regional nightmare is over.
After Bill Belichick's exhaustive search that had the circumference of a pencil tied to a 4-foot string — way to get out of your comfort zone, Bill — the Patriots are right back where they started when they were a functioning NFL franchise back at the end of the 2021 season.
Before Belichick completely screwed everything up, including his first-round quarterback.
O'Brien is subbing for Josh McDaniels — which doesn't mean it will go smoothly (more on that in a minute) — the defense will likely be called by Steve Belichick again (unless Belichick is going to totally demote his son) with Jerod Mayo getting a fancy new title, and no one has said anything about Cam Achord. And if Belichick decides not to give the outside noise red meat and keeps Matt Patricia (upstairs) and Joe Judge (special teams?) on staff ... how much has really changed?
Not much, of course. Because nothing ever really changes here. That used to be a great sign for the Patriots. A strength. Now? As we watch playoff games that the Patriots get further and further away from winning, it feels like One Patriot Place is an aging, out-of-touch bureaucracy built more to handle yesteryear's problems ... and offenses.
But at least bringing O'Brien and family home to Massachusetts is a step in the right direction.
Especially for Mac Jones.
Nothing is ever set in stone and things can change, but this a sign that Jones has clout in New England and is the guy moving forward. This reeks of Jones making his preference known, to ownership perhaps, and them rigging the election but pushing Belichick in that direction.
O'Brien gets Jones back doing what he does best — using the defensive clues to get the team into the right play with help from David Andrews — and that's a hell of a lot better spot than he was last year, I can tell you that.
But that also comes with pressure. We're building to a "Year 3 With A Rookie QB" come-to-Jesus reckoning. Jones will not be in his third scheme in three years, and he now has a preferred OC. If the Patriots get a dangerous weapon, he will have no excuses. And the Patriots will have their answer on him.
I'd still look to draft a developmental QB with big upside later in the draft — I'd always be looking for that — but Jones is still heading toward a prove-it year.
Now the pressure will be on him from all angles. A No Excuses Tour.
O'Brien still has much to prove himself. It starts with the staff he is surrounded with. Hopefully Belichick lets O'Brien do it himself — he knows exactly what he needs and ran his own NFL team for seven years and led them to the playoffs four times with a collection of average QBs. Bert Breer is reporting that Adrian Klemm is having another interview with the Patriots, likely with O'Brien. Here's hoping O'Brien has the power needed to hire his own guy — Saints line coach Doug Marrone, or Ravens assistant line coach Mike Devlin, who was O'Brien's guy in Houston. The Patriots can't afford a screw up with the line, where they've had a revolving door in recent years. That position is too vital in this scheme — they are responsible for drawing up the blocking assignments from scratch for that week's gameplan — to leave it up to an unknown, and a person who didn't even last a season as Mike Tomlin's top line coach. New receivers, tight ends and running backs coaches could also be coming.
It will be interesting to see how this works with O'Brien. The last time he took over for McDaniels in New England, he was handed the keys to a Porsche and was first in scoring in 2010 and 2011 — with Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker. This is a lot different. We don't know how Jones and O'Brien will mesh. Meeting for a couple of hours to learn Alabama's offense is one thing, forging a QB/coach tight relationship is another. And then there's the spin that O'Brien has put on the Patriots' offense. Will that mesh with Jones and what the Patriots have done in recent years?
"Same family tree but had definitely picked up new things in Houston and Alabama," said one league source. "Should be great for Mac."
It better be. The pressure is on him now.
