Boston College is set to hire Massachusetts native Bill O’Brien as its next head football coach.

O’Brien will replace Jeff Hafley, who departed after four seasons to become the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers. O’Brien was the New England Patriots offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick last season but left to become the offensive coordinator on head coach Ryan Day’s staff at Ohio State. Day is a former quarterbacks coach at BC.

O’Brien put the Buckeyes on hold to when Hafley decamped for Green Bay. O’Brien’s NFL experience included a previous stint with the Patriots and as head coach of the Houston Texans from 2013-2020.

O’Brien was hired as the head coach at Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. He also served as an offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech, Duke and under Nick Saban at Alabama. Georgia Tech and Duke are in the Atlantic Coast Conference. BC opens the 2024 season at Florida State on Labor Day.

This is a developing story …