Mazz: Patriots set Bill O’Brien up to fail
On Friday’s Felger & Mazz program, Tony Massarotti explains why Bill O’Brien was put in a difficult situation joining the Patriots last offseason.
Bill O’Brien Deserves Some Sympathy…
Parts of conversation abbreviated for clarity.
Mazz: Okay, so, this take purely relates to Billy O’Brien. And if Joe Murray were here, I would tell him, “Joe, I know you think the guy sucks, but work with me.”
I get it. They had a crap year offensively. Purely from O’Brien’s perspective, they asked him to come in and fix the abysmal offense. They needed him to work with Mac Jones. I mean, it was Robert Kraft’s decision to bring in O’Brien. That wasn’t Belichick’s call. The point is, Robert wanted O’Brien, not Belichick.
So, the owner brings him in. Billy O’Brien comes in to fix the offense. And what then happens is he goes to Bill Belichick and says, “Alright, what am I allowed to do with the staff?”
And Belichick says, “Well, you can bring in one guy, and that’s it.” Okay, so Belichick has got basically the whole staff other than one guy that O’Brien gets. That’s it.
Then Mac Jones turns out to be a bitch, and the offense sucks. O’Brien looks like he’s a complete and total failure. They fired Belichick. They bring in Mayo, who probably got the job that O’Brien thought he had a chance at. So now O’Brien is screwed.
So, the Patriots are basically saying to O’Brien, “We’re not going to fire you, but we’ll leave the door unlocked if you want to go.”
So, the guy comes in at the behest of the owner, and the coach freezes him out. And Belichick is pissed off at the rest of the staff because he feels like Jerod Mayo’s already in line to take his job. O’Brien basically gets a good ton of blame because of a suck year. Now, he’s left with nowhere to go.
So, of course, he ends up back in college because who will hire him in the NFL? What guy with half a brain is going to look at him and say, “Yeah, let’s bring in the offensive coordinator from the worst offensive team in the league.”
He got completely boned here. He got so porked it isn’t funny. He got screwed six ways to Sunday from the very beginning.
So, I do have some level of compassion for what he has had to deal with here. They brought him in, and they never gave him a chance. The quarterback sucked, and the owner and the coach were in a pissing match. Like, the whole deal was messed up from the start. He had no chance to succeed here.
In retrospect, we all know he didn’t have the tools.
Segment Audio
Ryan Beaton is a producer for 985thesportshub.com. You can follow Ryan at @ry_beaton on Twitter.
Listen to Felger and Mazz from 2-6 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with hosts Mike Felger, Tony “Mazz” Massarotti, and Jim Murray “Big Jim”. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow @FelgerAndMazz on Twitter to keep up with the show!
Bill O'Brien becomes latest coach to part ways with the Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 17: New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien looks on during the game against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on September 17, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
During his introductory press conference on Wednesday, new New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters that “everything’s under evaluation” when asked about naming coordinators for the upcoming season. Interviews with defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator candidates seemed to signal replacements in those spots, but until Thursday evening there was no news on the offensive coordinator position, which Bill O’Brien held since being hired at this time last year.
On Thursday night, we learned O’Brien would be one-and-done in that position. As first reported by ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, O’Brien is leaving the Patriots to take the offensive coordinator job at Ohio State.
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Last week, it was reported that O’Brien was still under contract with the Patriots for next year. So this move represents him leaving the organization, rather than simply needing a new job.
O’Brien, 54, was hired by the Patriots last year to fix an offense that has stalled under de facto offensive coordinator Matt Patricia the year before. However O’Brien was unable to elevate the group. The Patriots finished tied for dead-last in the NFL with 13.9 points per game, 30th in total yards, and 30th in team passer rating in 2023.
