Nebraska football rival could already be losing brand new OC

As a Nebraska football fan, it’s hard not to revel in the misfortunes of other Big Ten programs. Of course, if the reports that Bill O’Brien is leaving Ohio State for Boston College, it’s an open question whether that’s good news or bad news for the Buckeyes.

O’Brien was hired just a few weeks ago as OSU’s new offensive coordinator, and to say it wasn’t the most popular hire in the world would be an understatement. It was universally hated so much that Ryan Day has to be thinking it probably wasn’t worth it if O’Brien moves on.

And he might indeed move on. 

The Boston College job is the latest position to open ridiculously late in the college football offseason thanks to NFL teams trying to fill positions before the Super Bowl arrives. Jeff Hafley departed the Golden Eagles to become the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator.

That move was surprising enough considering that head coaches tend not to take demotions, even if they’re to the NFL. Now B.C. is looking for his replacement and Bill O’Brien - who was once mentioned for the Nebraska football job - is said to be a frontrunner in Boston.

Nebraska football rival could already be losing brand new OC

It’s not particularly surprising that the Eagles would go after the former Penn State head coach. His most recent job was offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. When head coach Bill Belichick was told to move on, so was his staff.

While O’Brien has his haters, he’s also someone who has a long coaching resume both in the NFL and college. And he’s someone that Boston College might normally not be seen as a school that could land someone of his stature.

Bruce Feldman believes that the timing, O’Brien’s background and other situations all converging at once could mean that he’ll be leaving Ohio State. Should he do that, it will leave the Nebraska football rival scrambling a bit.