That was near the high point in his career. It has since really nosedived.
He got demoted from a DC job but still hung around the NFL until 2015. Then he was unemployed for a couple of years. Finally got a job as an assistant for a HS team. Has been bouncing around with job coaching XFL/USFL teams. This is the first decent job he has had for 9 years.
Longtime NFL coach and coordinator Tim Lewis makes his return to the college game as the defensive coordinator on Bill O’Brien’s staff in 2024. Lewis brings 34 years
bceagles.com
Besides his problems finding a qualified DC, Bill really had a hard time finding someone who wanted to be the BC OC. Ended up taking a young TE coach from the Pats who has never been an OC, unless you count when he was at when he started coaching at Juniata. Not sure what Juniata is. Maybe a HS or a convent? I got curious and googled it. It turns out Juliana is a small college in Pennsylvania.
Anyway, our OC only has the one year at Baylor when he called plays (though he was also the OC for the Carolina Panthers the last 5 games of the 2021 season).
And it should be noted our DC has never been a DC (I am sure AJ pointed that out; I tried to listen to his podcast but I couldn’t get through his attempt at analysis). But he has been a key coach for a top performing defense for six years. He brought Joe Schaefer with him to SU, where he had been coaching the A&M outside LBs. Joe has progressed from being a HS coach (where he won a state championship) to a DC at progressively higher levels of college ball, where his defenses were consistnently top notch. He also added Robert Wright, another young coach from UB who was their DC.
So Elijah will be coaches on staff who have been DCs and who can presumablly help him game plan and make adjustments. And of course, he will have Coach Fran to help guide him as well.
Lewis has a staff of coaches who have not been DCs. To me, it seems like BC has a staff that is not distinguished or qualified. Their coaches on offense are also not impressive. They do have O’Brien, who at one time was thought to be a good offensive mInd. But he was a disaster as the New England OC last season and there are a lot of questions as to whether he can still coach.
I think it is fair to say there are questions about both staffs.I think even someone like Black would admit the Syracuse staff is vastly more qualified recruiting that the staff O’Brien struggled to put together. So everyone can agree Syracuse will have a vast advantage in talent over BC for the foreseeable future. Can O’Brien and his crew of misfit coaches shock the world and be competitive in the ACC? Time will tell…..
Will Lawing was introduced as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator and tight ends coach by new head coach Bill O’Brien in the spring of 2024, remaining on O’Brien’s
bceagles.com
With seemingly everything up in the air in Foxboro -- including the starting quarterback and the long-term status of the head coach -- O'Brien was asked on Monday if he hopes to get back into the head coaching world one day. His answer was brutally honest.
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