Bill O’Brien is officially a college football head coach again. Boston College formally announced its hiring of O’Brien as head coach on Friday afternoon.

O’Brien spent the 2023 season with the New England Patriots as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Following Bill Belichick’s dismissal in New England, O’Brien returned to college football. He had been hired as offensive coordinator at Ohio State before the Boston College came open.

It is the first head coaching job for O’Brien since his Houston Texans tenure. From 2014-to-2020, O’Brien logged a 52-48 regular-season record and 2-4 mark in postseason play with the Texans.

He was fired during the 2020 season and joined Nick Saban’s Alabama staff as offensive coordinator ahead of the 2021 season. O’Brien remained in Tuscaloosa for the 2022 season.

O’Brien has previous college coaching experience at Penn State, where he stepped in following Joe Paterno. The Nittany Lions were 15-9 in O’Brien’s two seasons as head coach.

Boston College is excited to be bringing O’Brien, a Massachusetts native, home.

“I am thrilled to welcome Bill O’Brien, his wife Colleen, and his sons Jack and Michael to Boston College,” AD Blake James said in a release. “When we embarked on this search, we prioritized finding a coach who believes in our mission and vision, who has a plan for greatness on and off the field, and who will work tirelessly to elevate BC Football.”

James added, “Bill is a gifted leader who has had a tremendous amount of success as a head coach and coordinator at both the collegiate and NFL levels. His passion for teaching football and developing young men make him a great fit to lead Boston College to greater heights.”

O’Brien will be formally introduced as BC’s new head coach on Thursday.