Tom O'Brien -- sexy hire? No. Solid hire? You bet.
Boston College won't comment on the status of Tom O'Brien until N.C. State does. That won't come until the contract is approved and a member of the N.C. State Board of Trustees told me, expect a quick approval Friday (12-8) afternoon.
O'Brien offers a great mixture of success. From an academic point of view, he graduates 96 percent of his players. From the coaching angle, O'Brien has won 62 percent of his games. From a personal perspective, O'Brien is a former Marine who demands discipline.
O'Brien is a football coach who grew up in the trenches. As an assistant at Navy (1975-81) and Virginia (1982-90), he coached the tackles, guards and centers. As Virginia's offensive coordinator (1991-94), he tutored the Wahoo QBs for three years, then went back to the offensive line for the final years at Virginia (1994-96).
For the last 10 years, O'Brien has been head coach at BC and one of the most productive aspects of his team is along the offensive line. In the nine prior seasons under O'Brien, BC has had eight offensive linemen drafted, two in the first round, two in the second. (Josh Beekman will join the group this year.) O'Brien has had 19 total players drafted, 10 in the first four rounds. That doesn't include Seattle's starting QB and 2006 pro-bowler, Matt Hasselbeck who has played much better than a sixth round draft pick.
Stability is a word that best describes O'Brien's coaching staff. Of the 10 assistants on O'Brien's current BC staff, seven have been with him for six years or more. We will have to wait and see how many will be coming to Raleigh, but one could be making a return trip. Eagles offensive coordinator Dana Bible was an assistant at N.C. State from 1983-85 working with the QBs and receivers.
