Projo Pats Blog

The New England Patriots have announced one new hire and two coaching changes to their staff: Scott O'Brien has been hired as special teams coach, Bill O'Brien moves from receivers coach to quarterbacks coach, and Josh Boyer is promoted from defensive coaching assistant to defensive backs coach.

Scott O'Brien, ironically, comes to New England from Denver, where Pats' former offensive coordinator recently became head coach, but is reuniting with Bill Belichick. O'Brien spent two years with the Broncos, but from 1991-95 was Belichick's special teams coach in Cleveland, which was his first job in the NFL. In 1994, he was voted the league's special teams coach of the year by his peers.

O'Brien remained with the Browns when they were moved to Baltimore in 1996 and became the Ravens; in 1999, he went to Carolina as special teams and assistant head coach; and he was on Nick Saban's staff for his two years in Miami before going to Denver.

Former Brown standout and Andover, Mass. native Bill O'Brien joined the Patriots in 2007 as an offensive coaching assistant, then was promoted last year to receivers coach. He will now mentor the quarterbacks, though it is believed he will also get to call some plays and ease into the role of offensive coordinator vacated by McDaniels.

He was the offensive coordinator at Duke before joining the Pats' staff.

Boyer, who spent the 2004 season as the defensive backs coach at Bryant, has been with New England since 2006 and was a defensive coaching assistant for the last three years. He more than likely got a recommendation from Patriots' defensive coordinator Dean Pees -- Boyer was a graduate assistant on Pees' Kent State staff in 2002-03.

 Tags  Bill O'Brien Josh Boyer Scott O'Brien

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