There were moments this past November when Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was not the most popular member of Nick Saban’s coaching staff.
During a mundane 20-14 home win over a mediocre LSU, the Crimson Tide were held to 6 rushing yards, and an Iron Bowl trip to a mediocre Auburn three weeks later yielded a 10-0 deficit through three quarters. O’Brien had countless detractors at that point, but the 24-22 comeback in four overtimes against the state rival followed by a sparkling performance in last month’s Southeastern Conference championship game rapidly erased the negativity.
Alabama racked up 536 yards on Georgia’s vaunted defense during the surprise 41-24 whipping inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, cementing a Heisman Trophy for sophomore quarterback Bryce Young and continuing what has been a fairly wild ride in O’Brien’s first season in Tuscaloosa that followed seven mostly successful years as head coach of the NFL’s Houston Texans.
“It’s been a great experience,” O’Brien said this week on a Zoom call. “It’s been awesome. We have a lot of great kids to coach. They’re hard working, they love football and they’re great teammates. The coaching staff led by Coach Saban is one of the best coaching staffs I’ve ever been a part of, and that says a lot, because I’ve been part of a lot of coaching staffs.
“It’s been a lot of fun to coach a guy like Bryce and the rest of the guys on offense. I can’t say enough about this program and how grateful I am to have this opportunity to be here and to try to do my part to help this team win.”