What Bill O’Brien said about Ohio State’s Ryan Day at first Boston College press conference

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Bill O’Brien said he was looking at homes in the Columbus area, preparing to settle in as Ohio State football’s offensive coordinator, when Jeff Hafley left Boston College for the Green Bay Packers.

O’Brien told reporters Thursday after his introductory press conference “my phone blew up a little bit” that night. “The process itself started the next day.”

That process ultimately led O’Brien to leave the Buckeyes after only three weeks to take over the Eagles. His wife is a Boston College alum, and he had other connections to the region after his two tenures with the New England Patriots.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day quickly moved to hire Chip Kelly as O’Brien’s replacement. At the time of O’Brien’s hire, however, Day was enthused to find a coach with the NFL and head coaching experience he wanted in order to turnover play calling and oversight of his offense for the first time.

During his opening remarks, O’Brien complimented Day for his understanding as the Boston College scenario played out. He said Day would have allowed him to remain at OSU had the Boston College hire not come together. In the end, due to his family connections and football opportunities, O’Brien called the job “a no-brainer.”

“I really want to thank Ryan Day, the head football coach at Ohio State, for his patience and his understanding of why it was so important for me to pursue this job,” O’Brien said. “A lot of people here at Boston College are familiar with Ryan Day. Ryan Day is an outstanding person, an outstanding coach and he was great during this whole process.”

O’Brien said he initially made the 10-hour drive to Columbus when starting his duties at OSU. He then had to make that drive back last Friday.

“It wasn’t bad, though,” O’Brien said. “Kids from Ohio should enjoy coming to Boston College.”

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