Bill O’Brien was hired as the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots after two years as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Alabama Football, according to multiple reports. He was also listed on the Patriots’ staff for the East-West Shrine Bowl.
The Crimson Tide must hire their third offensive coordinator in five seasons. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian served as the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020.
As for the next offensive coordinator, four of the last five, O’Brien, Sarkisian, Mike Locksley and Lane Kiffin have used the Alabama job as a rebound. Also, three of the last four had last trained in the NFL.
With those patterns in mind, here are some candidates that might make sense for coach Nick Saban as the next offensive coordinator.
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Jason Garrett, former New York Giants offensive coordinator/Dallas Cowboys coach
Garrett had never coached before when Saban decided to hire him as his quarterbacks coach with the Miami Dolphins.
While at the Senior Bowl for a year, Saban kept hearing that he needed to speak to Garrett, who was serving as Troy Aikman’s backup in Dallas. That is what Saban did. And he hired Garrett.
After working for Saban, Garrett became offensive coordinator for the Cowboys in 2007 before becoming head coach in 2011. Most recently, Garrett was offensive coordinator for the New York Giants before being fired in 2021.
“If I made a mistake as a professional coach, then after a year he should have become offensive coordinator,” said Saban eight years ago. “He was so good. So smart. The players responded to him so well.”
Right now, Garrett is an analyst for NBC Sports, but if he wants to get back into coaching, Alabama could be a good fit.
Jeff Lebby, Oklahoma offensive coordinator
Lebby is an intriguing option. He worked under Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss for two years, and during that time the Rebels finished 3rd and 6th nationally in yards per game. Ole Miss has also been in the top 25 for points per game every year.
In his lonely year with the Sooners last year, Lebby coordinated an offense that finished 33rd in points per game and 13th in yards per game.
He was also offensive coordinator at UCF in 2019 before joining Oxford.
He played for Oklahoma in college, so luring him away could be difficult, but a chance to coordinate Alabama’s offense on a return to the SEC could lure Lebby.
Kliff Kingsbury, former Arizona Cardinals/Texas Tech
He fits right into the mold of a fired former NFL/college coach like O’Brien.
The Cardinals let Kingsbury go in January after four seasons. Before that, Kingsbury coached Texas Tech from 2013 to 2018. Kingsbury also has ties to Bill Belichick: the Patriots selected him in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. Connections to patriots (see O’Brien and Brian Daboll) help in Saban’s eyes.
Kingsbury is a seasoned play caller with SEC experience. Notably, he was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Texas A&M in 2012 and served as coach to Johnny Manziel when the quarterback won the Heisman Trophy as a freshman. This team also defeated Alabama 29-24 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Another thing on Kingsbury’s resume that’s sure to register with recruits: He coached Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in college.
Nick Caley, New England Patriots tight ends coach
He’s never been an offensive coordinator, but he could make sense.
Caley has been an offense assistant under Belichick for several years. Caley has been coaching the tight ends since 2017 and was a name many thought might succeed Josh McDaniels as the Patriots’ offensive coordinator this past offseason.
Belichick decided to give Matt Patricia/Joe Judge offensive coordinator duties in place of Caley that season, but Sports Illustrated reported that Belichick didn’t know if Caley would be in New England after 2022 when Caley’s contract expired, and Belichick didn’t want him Having to replace in 2023 when Caley was offensive coordinator.
The relationship between Saban and Belichick is well documented. If the Patriots coach recommended Saban Caley, the Alabama coach would certainly look at him.
It wouldn’t be the first time Alabama has hired someone in Caley’s position. Brian Daboll was also the Patriots’ tight end coach before taking the job of Alabama offensive coordinator. After coaching Alabama during the 2017 season, Daboll became the Buffalo Bills OC that season and then coached the New York Giants.
Caley and Daboll differ in that Daboll was the offensive coordinator for three NFL teams prior to his three seasons as tight ends coach for Belichick. Caley, who will be 40 in January, has no coordinating experience at any level.
Still, Belichick may believe in Caley’s potential and recommend him to Saban.
Freddie Kitchens, senior analyst/former coach for the Cleveland Browns of South Carolina
He’s a former UA quarterback who won the 1992 Mr. Football at Etowah High School, but Kitchens’ qualifications trace back to his Alabama roots.
Kitchens has experience as the NFL coordinator for the Browns and the Giants in 2021, filling in temporarily after Garrett was fired. He also coached the Browns in 2019 before being fired after a year.
Kitchens has also worked for the Cardinals (running backs and tight ends), Cowboys (tight ends), and Mississippi State (tight ends) and North Texas (running backs). But one station that’s most notable is where he worked in 2000.
Kitchens was a research assistant on Saban’s staff at LSU.
Saban also spoke highly of Kitchens after the former quarterback was named coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2019.
“I think Freddie has a tremendous psychological attitude to what it takes to be successful as a coach,” said Saban said on NFL Network. “He knows the importance of being knowledgeable because that knowledge will help you build good relationships and trust with your players. He was with some great people. Bill Parcels. Some really, really good people to learn from. He’s great common sense. He’s very smart. Very intelligent. He understands human behavior very well.
“They have some good young players and I think Freddie will do a great job with those guys.”
During the 2022 season, Kitchens was a senior football analyst for South Carolina.
Greg Roman, former offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens
Roman only had a brief stint in college coaching as a Stanford tight ends and offensive tackle coach more than a decade ago, but his NFL resume is impressive. He could be in line for a coaching rehab working under Saban.
Roman was recently fired after managing Baltimore’s offense since 2019. He was named 2019 AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year. That same year, his work with quarterback Lamar Jackson resulted in Jackson becoming the NFL’s most valuable player in just his sophomore year.
That could be very tempting for recruits if Roman has an interest in coaching at the collegiate level, but it would likely involve a shift in offense given Roman’s known for his run-heavy scheme.
Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills QB coach
At 33, he’s another young option but intriguing nonetheless.
He was the interim coordinator for LSU when the Tigers beat Alabama in 2019, and he won the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach. Brady became the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers for two seasons. Now he’s Josh Allen’s quarterbacks coach this year.
Brady could also bring new ideas, is familiar with the SEC and has NFL experience on his resume. It all makes him worthy of calling for the Alabama offensive coordinator opening.
Contact Alabama reporter Nick Kelly: [email protected] Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly.