Despite rumors that Ohio State offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien has emerged as a leading candidate for the Boston College coaching vacancy, it's apparently still full steam ahead as of now for the first-year Buckeyes assistant in Columbus, according to coach Ryan Day.
"No update [on O'Brien]" Day told reporters on National Signing Day, which marked the first time he's spoken publicly since the start of the new year.
Day did confirm, though, that there are contingency plans in place should O'Brien depart.
"It isn't one of those situations where you take one guy out and put another guy in there," Day said. "We'll have contingency plans in place. Hopefully we don't go down that road, but if we do, we'll adapt."
It's easy to see why the Boston College vacancy would appeal to O'Brien. It would be a homecoming for the Boston native who spent 2023 as the offensive coordinator for the NFL's New England Patriots. It was O'Brien's second time working for ex-Patriots coach Bill Belichick after a previous stint on New England's staff from 2007-11.
The Boston College vacancy was unexpected within this coaching cycle. The job opened earlier in February when coach Jeff Hafley left his post to become the Green Bay Packers' defensive coordinator. Hafley, a former Ohio State assistant himself, was coming off his best finish in four seasons at the helm, guiding the Eagles to seven wins in 2023. It marked the third time this cycle that a sitting FBS coach left for a coordinator position after ex-Buffalo coach Maurice Linguist and ex-South Alabama coach Kane Wommack left their schools to join Kalen DeBoer's new Alabama staff.
Though O'Brien's situation is fluid, Day confirmed he will still surrender play-calling duties during the 2024 season regardless, a move that was expected after Ohio State brought O'Brien onboard in January.
"At Ohio State we're chasing that 1-to-2 percent," Day told reporters. "For me, to be able to hand over a lot of the duties that I was doing, I was looking for someone that had a great background in the NFL, in the SEC. [O'Brien] had a great background as a former head coach."
Whoever leads Ohio State's offense in 2024 will be tasked with overseeing a Buckeyes offense that seeks a resurgence after taking a step back in 2023 from previous years. Ohio State averaged 30.5 points per contest, and while it still won 11 games, it marked the first time since 2016 that it did not average at least 40 points per outing. Day faced considerably scrutiny upon the season's end after losing to rival Michigan and falling short of the Big Ten Championship Game for a third straight year, resulting in staffing tweaks and a transfer portal overhaul that ranks as one of the best for the cycle.
