Bill O'Brien has been the name mentioned the most during discussions/debates about the New England Patriots' open offensive coordinator job, and he finally has interviewed for the position.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the Patriots interviewed O'Brien on Thursday.
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O'Brien spent the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the University of Alabama. He also has plenty of New England ties. He joined the Patriots as an offensive assistant in 2007 and rose to the role of offensive coordinator in 2011 before departing to become the head coach at Penn State in 2012. O'Brien was born in Dorchester, Mass., too.
Where do Patriots rank among the NFL's most desired OC openings?
In addition to O'Brien, the list of people who reportedly have interviewed or are expected to interview for the Patriots' OC job include Minnesota Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell, University of Oregon associate head coach/offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, Arizona Cardinals associate head coach/wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson and Patriots tight ends coach Nick Caley.
Josina Anderson reported that McCardell's interview will be Thursday. Rapoport followed up by adding the Patriots could be done with their OC interviews by Friday.
O'Brien is the "primary target" for the Patriots, our Tom E. Curran reported earlier this week.