8 Dream Patriots Head Coach Targets to Replace Bill Belichick in 2024

6. Bill O'Brien, Patriots offensive coordinator

If New England wanted a familiar face to run their team, they could consider an in-house candidate. For years, it was assumed Josh McDaniels would one day take the reins from his long-time boss and that feeling intensified when McDaniels flamed out in Denver and returned to be the offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick once again.

Then, McDaniels went out of his way to make himself unhirable as a head coach. He took over the Las Vegas Raiders last year and ran them into the ground. There were some crazy rumors that included him having Antonio Pierce represent him in team meetings where the players voiced their displeasure with McDaniels, especially when Pierce mentioned beating New England in 2007. He was then fired and the team responded wonderfully to Pierce. 

For New England, this could be a win. With McDaniels once again proving he’s not the man for the job, they’d be more likely to hire his replacement, Bill O’Brien, thus avoiding a colossal mistake by bringing McDaniels back again. Currently in his second stint with New England, O’Brien left in 2012 to coach Penn State. From there, he went to Houston to run the Texans and was 52-48. He had some success but there were issues as well, mostly due to personnel decisions.

The question now is whether or not they want to keep anyone from this offensive staff — because what they’ve produced is frankly, offensive. Still, B.O.B. is still well respected and has a solid resume. Even if he doesn’t land the job, he will be in contention and should get another shot at some point in his career.