BC Bulletin

Bill O'Brien's Play Calling Impresses in Debut Win

After facing a great deal of scrutiny during his last two stops as an offensive coordinator, the Eagles new head coach showed plenty of promise in a statement win in Tallahassee.

Peyton Davis

Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien congratulates players after his team scored their second touchdown of the first half against Florida State, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, at Doak S. Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. Mandatory Credit: AP Photo/Colin Hackley
Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien congratulates players after his team scored their second touchdown of the first half against Florida State, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, at Doak S. Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. Mandatory Credit: AP Photo/Colin Hackley / AP Photo/Colin Hackley
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There was a collective eye roll in a portion of BC's fanbase when Massachusetts native, Bill O'Brien was named as the program's 37th head coach this past February. The 54-year-old has a decorated resume in both college and the pros as everything from offensive assistant, to coordinator, to head coach and even general manager.

He's ran both successful college and NFL programs, but his career started to run off the rails after the way his tenure as Houston Texans' head coach/GM came to an end back in 2020.

His last two jobs as two-year offensive coordinator under Nick Saban at Alabama and then last year under Bill Belichick as OC for the Patriots were heavily scrutinized. His lack of adaption to the modern game at both the college and pro level as a play caller led to many head scratching moments in the past three years.

It becomes increasingly evident that, in this game, if you don't adapt to modern schemes and trends - you will not last anywhere. That goes for coaches, players or front office personnel on the college and pro level.

Last night, the coach commonly referred to as B.O.B. showed ability to adapt.

These two clips are a great reflection of the nuanced approach from Bill O'Brien. This concept, referred to as "mesh," is extremely effective against man coverage, with conflicting underneath crossing routes that creates defensive conflicts in the middle of the field. It is by no means a "new" route combination, but finding ways the same concepts out of different motions and looks is one of the most effective forms of game calling in football today.

Here, BC runs the same exact play, this mesh concept tagged with the tailback running what is referred to as a "rail" route, which means he runs a tight wheel route towards the short side of the field. They ran this multiple other times and had the back wide open basically every time because of miscommunication and confliction in the middle of the FSU defense.

This isn't necessarily due to the incompetence of the Seminoles' linebackers, Castellanos recognizes man coverage due to the reaction of the motion by the defense and the defense is flat footed because O'Brien is running it out of different looks. Simple but obviously effective.

Simple but effective is a perfect summary of the approach the BC offense took versus Florida State, and shows Coach O'Brien’s willingness to adapt to the modern game.

In his last college stop at Alabama, he was constantly putting all of the pressure on his quarterback, Bryce Young, to diagnose pressures and pre snap looks with out any motion or formation diversity to give him an advantage. Essentially expecting Young to be as good at the line of scrimmage as an NFL quarterback, and due to Young's incredible intangible talent he was often bailed out.

Don't believe me? Take a look at this thread or simply search up "Bill O'Brien Alabama" on X and see the amount of Bama fans rejoicing when he took the Patriots OC job last offseason.

He deserves credit to acclimating this Boston College offense to what their strengths are on paper, which is to be a great running team. Even against a team littered with pro talent in the front seven they were that and then some to the tune of 52 carries for 263 yards on the ground compared to 16 attempts for 106 yards through the air.

This should continue to be the identity of this team. The backfield duo of Kye Robichaux and Treshaun Ward combined with the dynamic legs of Thomas Castellanos should make them a headache for any team to stop on the ground.

Using this to set up the pass and making things simple for Castellanos makes them all the more dangerous as a factor in the ACC and already has him listed on the Davey O'Brien "Great 8" list on Tuesday afternoon.

Bill O'Brien passed his first test as the leader of the BC program with flying colors, now can it become consistent - something his offenses have struggled with the past three years. It does appear that he has humbly acknowledged those shortcomings to himself and has found a second wind as a play caller.

If that is the case, Boston College has one of the most decorated and accomplished coaches in the entire country leading their program for the foreseeable future.

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Peyton Davis

PEYTON DAVIS

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