Two weeks ago, NBC Sports Boston's Tom E. Curran said on WEEI that he believed Bill Belichick would be interested in bringing Bill O'Brien back to be the Patriots' offensive coordinator, and that he thought there was a good chance it would happen.
If it's going to, the Patriots aren't exactly moving at breakneck pace to make it happen. Curran provided another O'Brien-related update on Tuesday, tweeting that there has not yet been any contact between the two sides.
As Curran points out, this doesn't necessarily mean that the Patriots aren't interested in O'Brien or won't eventually hire him. Their season just ended on Sunday, and it's possible they're still going through their team-wide breakdowns and reviews before they begin the interview and hiring process (if they do).
But with other teams likely to be interested in O'Brien, including potentially the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Patriots may not be able to drag their feet too long. At some point soon, they're going to have to decide if they're in the market for an offensive coordinator, and if they think O'Brien is their guy.
O'Brien, who is from Andover, previously spent five seasons on Belichick's staff in New England from 2007-11, serving as offensive coordinator for the 2011 season and offensive play-caller in 2009 and 2010 as well. Since leaving, he spent two years as head coach at Penn State, seven as head coach of the Houston Texans, and the last two as offensive coordinator at Alabama.
The MMQB's Albert Breer recently said on NBC Sports Boston that Kliff Kingsbury (just fired by the Arizona Cardinals), Chad O'Shea (a former Patriots position coach and the Cleveland Browns' current passing game coordinator), and Nick Caley (currently the Patriots' tight ends coach) could all be offensive coordinator options as well. He reported that the Patriots "have done their research" on Kingsbury, even before Kingsbury became available.
Curran, for his part, said he doesn't think a move to the Patriots would be smart for Kingsbury.
