Patriots Helmet Nov 24, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; A New England Patriots helmet sits idle before the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Patriots at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

It’s no secret that the New England Patriots have struggled on offense this season, even going back to the preseason after the departure of former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to the Las Vegas Raiders as head coach Bill Belichick went with a collaborative approach, tabbing former head coaches Joe Judge and Matt Patricia to help run the offense – neither of whom had ever run an offense before. It didn’t really work, and it looks like the Patriots are considering a big off-season hire to address the problem.

According to a report from Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network, the New England Patriots are considering bringing back current Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien to run their offense next season

“Sources say Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien is a strong option to return to his former home and assume his old role as OC under Bill Belichick for next season. This would be a potential answer to an important question facing the Patriots in the future,” Rapoport said in his report.

O’Brien served on the Patriots coaching staff for five seasons between 2007 and 2011, serving as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2011 before leaving to become the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions at the college level. After a failed stint as the head coach of the Houston Texans, O’Brien returned to the college ranks as a coordinator at Alabama under head coach Nick Saban, where he currently coaches.

When O’Brien was on staff in New England previously, the Patriots led the league with 30.7 points per game and ranked second in the NFL with 393.1 total yards per game. If the team re-hires O’Brien, they’ll hope for similar dominance.

[Ian Rapoport]