Corey Sipkin / Associated Press
Alabama football coach Nick Saban is considering Adam Gase and Bill O’Brien to become his new offensive coordinators next season, according to Bruce Feldman Atlético.
Bama’s position in the OC will be vacant after the College Football Playoff national championship game against Ohio State on January 11, as Steve Sarkisian accepted the position of principal coach at the University of Texas.
Gase was fired by the New York Jets on Monday after two seasons as head coach, while O’Brien was fired in the middle of his seventh campaign as the Houston Texans coach.
The position of offensive coordinator in Alabama has been a coveted role in recent years because of the amount of talent that Saban recruits on that side of the ball and the fact that those in office tend to go for even bigger and better things.
Alabama ranked third or better in offensive scoring in each of the last three campaigns, and Tide has not lost more than two games in a season since they dropped three in 2010.
In addition to Sarkisian, who was Bama’s offensive coordinator in 2019, names like Brian Daboll, Lane Kiffin and Mike Locksley have held this position in recent years.
Kiffin is now Ole Miss’s head coach, Locksley is head coach in Maryland and Daboll is the offensive coordinator for Buffalo Bills and one of the hottest NFL head coach candidates.
Both Gase and O’Brien could benefit from accepting the position of OC in Alabama, as this would almost certainly rehabilitate their images and give them another chance to become a head coach in the NFL or in the college ranks at some point.
Gase had just 9-23 in two seasons as a Jets coach, including a 2-14 mark this season. He was hired to assist in the development of quarterback Sam Darnold, but that did not happen.
Instead, the Jets took 32nd place in the total attack in each of their two seasons in charge and 31st in the score in 2019 and 32nd this season.
Gase previously served as head coach of the Miami Dolphins for three seasons from 2016 to ’18. He did 23-25 in Miami and took the Dolphins to the playoffs in 2016.
His greatest success came as an offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos from 2013 to 14, when quarterback Peyton Manning enjoyed one of the best productions of his career.
O’Brien is a disciple of Bill Belichick who served as New England Patriots quarterback coach, wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator before becoming Penn State’s head coach in 2012.
The Nittany Lions went 15-9 in two seasons under O’Brien, and then he made the leap back to the NFL as the Texans’ head coach. O’Brien had just 52-48, but led the Texans to four AFC South titles and playoff appearances, as well as two postseason wins.
Despite this, Houston never made it into the top 10 in the total attack or scoring attack during his time as head coach.
It is well documented that Saban and Belichick have mutual respect for each other, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Saban tear someone off the Belichick training tree like O’Brien.
While the job is coveted, Gase, O’Brien or whoever gets the Alabama OC job may have their work cut out for them in 2021, as quarterback Mac Jones, running back Najee Harris and wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle could all leave for the NFL.