A Conversation with Coach Bill O'Brien about Faith, Football, and Boston College
William O'Brien
Boston College
Date: Friday, November 1, 2024
Time: 3 - 4pm
Location: Devlin Hall 008
Boston College head football coach, Bill O'Brien, has brought our football team to unprecedented levels of success this season. On November 1st, he will join the director of the Boisi Center, Mark Massa, S.J., for a conversation about faith, football, and his lifelong love of Boston College.
The Gregory P. Barber ’69 and Family Head Coach Bill O'Brien was hired as the 37th head coach in Boston College football history on Feb. 9, 2024.
A 32-year coaching veteran on staffs across the college and professional ranks, O’Brien was elevated to his first head coaching post at Penn State in 2012. He guided the Nittany Lions to an overall record of 15-9 and 10-6 Big Ten mark during the span of two seasons while directing the program through a postseason ban. He was named the head coach of the NFL’s Houston Texans in 2014, leading the franchise to a 52-48 record, four AFC South Division titles, and four playoff appearances - including two Wild Card round wins - between 2014 and 2020.
While with Penn State, O’Brien was recognized in 2012 with a pair of national coaching awards - the Paul “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Year, and the George Munger Award for Coach of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club. The Nittany Lions’ eight wins in 2012 were the most by a first-year head coach in Penn State history, earning O’Brien Big Ten Coach of the Year honors. In 2013, O’Brien and Penn State won seven games, including two top 25 victories, downing No. 18 Michigan at home and winning at No. 14 Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions boasted two first team All-Americans during his tenure - linebacker Michael Mauti (2012) and wide receiver Allen Robinson (2013) - and 10 All-Big Ten selections.
O’Brien returned to the NFL in 2014 as the head coach of the Houston Texans. During his tenure, Houston posted five winning seasons, including back-to-back double-digit win seasons in 2018 (11-5) and 2019 (10-6). The 21 combined wins rank as the second-most in a two-year span in franchise history. Houston’s offense ranked in the top-10 in rushing in the league on four occasions. The 2019 Texans’ squad featured a 3,500-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher, and a 1,000-yard receiver for only the fourth time in franchise history.
After his time in Houston, O'Brien returned to the college game as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban in 2021 and 2022. He mentored Heisman Trophy winning QB Bryce Young and helped the Crimson Tide reach the College Football Playoff national championship game in 2021. In his second season, Alabama was fourth nationally in scoring offense (41.1 points/game), 11th in total offense (477.1 yards/game) and 19th in passing offense (281.5 yards/game) en route to an 11-2 record and a victory in the Sugar Bowl.
O’Brien, who totaled six years across two stints on Bill Belichick’s staff, helped guide the New England Patriots to two AFC titles and appearances in Super Bowl XLII and XLVI in six total years on the Patriots’ coaching staff. Most recently, he spent the 2023 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the New England Patriots. He served in four different roles in Foxboro, including offensive coordinator during the 2011 season. With O’Brien as the OC, the Patriots went 13-3, earned the top-seed in the AFC, led the AFC in scoring (32.1 points per game), and ranked second in the NFL in total offense (428.0 yards per game) on the way to the Super Bowl. O’Brien was also the quarterbacks coach for two seasons, working directly with Tom Brady. During that time, Brady earned 2010 Associated Press MVP and All-Pro First Team honors.
Before entering the NFL, O’Brien gained 14 years of experience at the collegiate level, including 12 years in the ACC. His coaching career began at his alma mater Brown, serving as the tight ends coach (1993) and inside linebackers coach (1994). He then began an eight-year stretch at Georgia Tech as a graduate assistant (1995-97), running backs coach (1998-00) and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2001-02). O’Brien then spent two seasons as the running backs coach at Maryland (2003-04) before a two-year stint as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Duke (2005-06).
Originally from Dorchester, Mass., O’Brien played linebacker and defensive end at Brown 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.
“Bill O’Brien - Football Coach - Boston College Athletics.” Boston College Athletics.
Camenker, Jacob. “Bill O’Brien Coaching History: How Coach Got Boston College Job After Stints With Penn State, Texans, Alabama, Patriots.” Sporting News, September 2, 2024.
Feldman, Bruce. “Boston College Hires Bill O’Brien as Football Coach.” The Athletic, September 6, 2024.
Rankin, Kim. “Everything Boston College Head Coach Bill O’Brien Said After Win Over Florida State,” Boston College Eagles on SI, September 3, 2024. http://www.si.com/college/bostoncollege/football/everything-boston-college-head-coach-bill-o-brien-said-afTer-win-over-florida-state-01j6tz9tfffq
Thamel, Pete. “Bill O'Brien and a new world of football at Boston College.” ESPN. ESPN.Com, September 2, 2024. .
Bill O’Brien has worked tirelessly to make a name for himself in the world of professional and college football. ESPN wrote an article outlining what his new tenure as Boston College’s football coach would mean for him and the team as a whole. The article portrays the old-school coach as being highly capable of transforming a team that has often struggled to compete against powerhouse programs with bigger budgets and larger recruiting pools. The personal life of Bill O’Brien is highlighted in the article, as well. It discusses his connections to the community, including to Boston College through his wife, to the Boston-area doctors that have supported his son with a rare brain malformation, and to his other son who is playing baseball at Tufts. These are just a few of the personal reasons that drew Coach O’Brien to take the position at BC. As the coach put it himself, “I embrace what Boston College is all about.” He demonstrates this desire for engagement by speaking with the entire BC community at events such as the conversation led by the Boisi Center.
Boisi Center director, Mark Massa, S.J. (L) interviews Coach Bill O'Brien (R).
Photo credits: Christopher Soldt, MTS
On November 1, 2024, the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life hosted Boston College head football coach Bill O’Brien for a conversation about faith, football, and BC with the center's director, Mark Massa, S.J. For the first half of the event, Massa interviewed O’Brien, then he opened up the conversation for question and answer with an engaged audience for the second half of the event.
The conversation centered around both football and what it means for O'Brien to work at a Jesuit school. The Jesuit values of the BC community was a central theme for O’Brien. He mentioned the power of having a Catholic mass before games, and that he wants to instill in his players the value of being “men for others.” He noted that much of the team is active in serving the community.
Other dimensions of Boston College's culture were also discussed. O’Brien recognizes that BC has a culture of hard-working students, which he also expects from his players and uses as a selling point in recruiting. He emphasized that he is not looking for student-athletes who are concerned with making the most money, but rather those who want to work hard and succeed on multiple levels, including academically. He told the audience that he talks with his players often about the value of a Boston College education. Given that, statistically, most college athletes will not go on to be professionals, having an excellent education is important for their future success. Regarding football recruitment, O’Brien shared his thoughts on the transfer portal and his strategy for imprinting his style onto the Boston College program. When asked about the transfer portal, he noted that he intends to bring in recruits primarily from high school programs and have them play for their entire collegiate careers at Boston College. He also said he intends to recruit from the Northeast in particular, as the local community can be a powerful source of support for athletes.
When asked about student engagement from BC undergraduates, O’Brien emphasized that the student body has been great at supporting the football program. He added that he would love to get students into the stadium earlier, which would require earlier tailgating so that students would come to the game before kickoff. This would provide an even closer connection between players and their fellow students.
Perhaps most poignantly, O’Brien reflected on his decision to come to Boston College. He told the story of when he found out the job had opened up, which happened when he was out to dinner with his wife and saw it on ESPN. He and his wife looked at each other at that moment and knew they would be moving to Boston. It was the perfect program for him, and the perfect place for his family. Overall, O’Brien spoke eloquently and thoughtfully about the BC football program. It was clear that in the way he coaches, recruits, and lives, he is an emblem of Boston College’s mission as a Jesuit school.