Alabama football offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien to interview with Jacksonville Jaguars | Report
INDIANAPOLIS — Alabama football offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is set to interview with the Jacksonville Jaguars for their coaching vacancy next week, a person familiar with the situation confirmed to the Florida Times-Union.
First, he is set to coach in the College Football Playoff championship against Georgia at 7 p.m. CT on Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
O'Brien joined Alabama football ahead of the 2021 season after he was fired as the general manager/coach of the Houston Texans.
In addition to serving as offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide, O'Brien also coached quarterback Bryce Young, who won the Heisman Trophy this season.
Alabama ranks No. 6 among FBS in total offense with 494.6 yards per game. It also ranks third in scoring (41.4 points per game) and No. 2 in third down conversion percentage (.527).
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O'Brien was asked ahead of the CFP championship how he has handled when others have shown interest in hiring him.
"It's one of those things that happens all the time," O'Brien said Wednesday. "It's part of the career, part of what you sign up for. My focus has always been on the task at hand and that's just the way I operate."
He was more interested in talking about the matchup with Georgia.
"I just think that this is a great opportunity for this program," O'Brien said. "And we've put so much work into this. And really if you're here, if you're able to follow us around for a week, your focus is completely on Georgia and your team and what you have to do to try to help do your part to help your team win. So that's what the focus is."
O'Brien was with the Texans from 2014-20, serving as general manager for the last season. He won 52 of the 100 games in which he coached with Houston. The Texans made the playoffs during four of his seven seasons, the last of which he was fired after four games.
Before that, he was the first coach of Penn State after Joe Paterno.
O'Brien has also spent time with the New England Patriots as offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and wide receivers coach. Prior to that, he spent time as an assistant coach with Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech and Brown.
According to the Times-Union, the Jaguars have also interviewed Doug Pederson, Jim Caldwell and Todd Bowles.
Contact Alabama reporter Nick Kelly: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Bill O'Brien to interview with Jacksonville Jaguars for head coach job
