WATCH: Patriots' O'Brien Urged Alabama Star QB to Change Positions

Before he oversaw the disastrous New England Patriots' offense weighed down by Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe, Bill O'Brien suggested a position change at Alabama for one of college football's best quarterbacks.

Bill O'Brien has endured a rough year, telling critics to "blame me" for the New England Patriots' historically horrible offense.

It just got tougher, because he's about to get "credit" for the rise of one of college football's best players.

Hired to replace Matt Patricia and reinvigorate the Patriots' offense, O'Brien is instead overseeing one of the worst units in franchise history. The 4-11 Pats are the lowest-scoring team in the NFL, held to embarrassing point totals of 7, 6 and 3 points, and twice shut out at home. The offense is without a 100-yard runner or receiver in a game, and the only 300-yard passing day came in the season opener 16 long weeks ago.

O'Brien was supposed to fix broken starting quarterback Mac Jones, but he has further regressed to the point of losing his job to Bailey Zappe. The Pats' quarterback position has been an embarrassing mess, with a carousel of forgettable players traversing the roster and/or practice squad at points during the season.

O'Brien also had a voice in never playing talented rookie Malik Cunningham, who was recently stolen off the Pats' practice squad by the Baltimore Ravens.

With head coach Bill Belichick's tenure in Foxboro in serious limbo in the worst season of his Hall-of-Fame career, he might not be around in 2024. Same for O'Brien, who we learned today also wasn't great at his previous job coaching quarterbacks in college.

Jalen Milroe is currently one of the hottest quarterbacks in college football, poised to lead Alabama against Michigan in the Rose Bowl semifinal on New Year's Day. On Thursday, Milroe revealed that O'Brien - Alabama's former offensive coordinator - wanted him to change positions in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama QB Jalen Milroe says his former OC and current Patriots OC Bill O'Brien told him he should not be a quarterback.

"How would you feel if I told you that you sucked?"

"Look where I'm at right now. So who gets the last laugh?"pic.twitter.com/xurEAr61ge

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 28, 2023

"Shoot, my own offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien told me I shouldn't play quarterback," Milroe said. "There's a lot of things I can have motivation on, and that's something I have motivation from."

O'Brien was Alabama’s offensive coordinator 2021-22, and he did help Bryce Young become the Crimson Tide's first quarterback to win a Heisman Trophy. But he clearly missed on Milroe, who finished sixth in this year's Heisman voting and will be a favorite to win the award next season.

Heisman QB to Patriots? 2024 NFL 3-Round Mock Draft

This season he completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 2,718 yards and 23 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He’s also added 468 yards and a team-leading 12 scores on the ground.

Said Milroe of O'Brien, "He told me there was a bunch of positions I could have switched to, but look where I’m at right now. So who gets the last laugh?”

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