As head coaching vacancies in college football fill up with new names, Alabama fans are wondering how long until offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien gets a head coaching opportunity elsewhere.
Nick Saban hired him on Jan. 21, 2021, to coordinate the offense after Steve Sarkisian left for the Texas job.
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O’Brien helped the Crimson Tide to a Southeastern Conference Championship in 2021 and a 10-win season this year; however, his lack of creative play-calling has frustrated Tide fans all season. He assisted Saban in crowning Bryce Young as the Tide’s fourth Heisman Trophy winner and its first quarterback in school history to win the honor. Alabama averaged 40 points per game in O’Brien’s two seasons, but much of the production has come from Young’s improvisation and not O’Brien’s play-calling.
His contract, which has a base salary of $1.1 million, ends on Feb. 28, 2023.
The majority of Tide fans do not want another year of the 53-year-old in Tuscaloosa. Multiple schools — including Colorado, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, and Nebraska — had O’Brien on their list of candidates to fill head coaching vacancies, but no one has hired him. Reports have started on O’Brien potentially returning to the National Football League, yet it is only speculation.
The ideal scenario for Tide supporters is to have O’Brien be a head coach elsewhere before spring practice starts in March.
We will see if a move is made for O’Brien during Alabama’s bowl prep.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
