Fortunately for O’Brien, new Tech coach Chan Gailey welcomed him back, as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Then it was two years at Maryland and two more at Duke before O’Brien got an offer from an e-mail buddy.
Bill Belichick.
“In 2001, when I was at Georgia Tech, we made contact through a mutual friend and just talked football,” O’Brien said. “After that I just kept in touch with him, maybe once or twice a year, send him an e-mail if I had a football question, and he would respond.”
Belichick would occasionally ask O’Brien about certain players in the ACC, to get his opinion on whether or not he thought they’d make good pro players.
“I definitely wanted to coach in the NFL at some point and I was always intrigued, watching the Patriots and how they did things, football-wise and Xs and Os wise, and how coach Belichick ran the team,” O’Brien said. “I always wanted to be a part of that, so when the opportunity arose it was something I didn’t give a second thought to. I just definitely wanted to be a part of it and learn from what I consider the best coaching staff, the best players in the league.”
O’Brien took a pay cut to come to New England last year, as a coaching assistant. But the move was a good one all around. He says he’s learned more about football in the last 18 months than he had in the previous 16 years, and he gets to be near family and friends again.
