Bill O’Brien is leaving the Patriots to become the new offensive coordinator at Ohio State. A source told New England Football Journal over the weekend that O’Brien has been in talks with Ohio State since last week to join Ryan Day’s staff. 

With O’Brien’s departure, new Patriots coach Jerod Mayo is now in the market for a new offensive coordinator. Several names have been linked to the job even before O’Brien departed, most notably former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. 

With O’Brien out, Mayo now has the opportunity to change the Patriots offensive philosophy. He could hire someone from the Shanahan coaching tree or the Andy Reid coaching tree. Both systems have produced high octane offenses for a long time. Offenses that put players in position to make plays. Both systems are extensions of the West Coast offense. 

Hiring someone with Patriots ties that will run the Patriots system would be a mistake. It is why I do not think it should be McDaniels.

In O’Brien’s defense, he is a good offensive coach. Unfortunately, he inherited a limited skill group, an offensive line that was injury prone and young and a quarterback who was too broken to fix. He was never going to be able to clean up this mess. 

It is on Mayo to fix it. He has to make the right hire at offensive coordinator. It is not hyperbole to say that his tenure depends on it.