Getty Image
Nick Saban may well be the greatest college football coach of all time. Bill Belichick may well be the greatest NFL coach of all time.
Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien has served as the offensive coordinator for both legendary head coaches.
So, in a one-game scenario with his life on the line, who is O’Brien picking to win a football if all else was equal? Without hesitation, he says it’s Saban.
“The football genie comes to you and says ‘You have 24 hours to live. Your life depends on this. We’re gonna have a football game. The teams are evenly matched. There’s no recruiting. There’s no salary cap. We’re not buying players. There’s 11 over here and 11 over here. Your life depends on it. You have to pick a coach. It’s either Nick Saban or Bill Belichick. Who do you pick to save your life,'” radio host Joe Giglio asked O’Brien at ACC Media Day
To his credit, O’Brien took the question in stride, immediately breaking into laughter. But he also didn’t take long before answering.
After Giglio clarified that it was a backyard game, rather than pro or college, O’Brien said it had to be Saban.
“I’m going with Nick Saban for the Thanksgiving neighborhood football game,” he said. “Because I think Nick would be very straightforward … It might be difficult for the guys to understand exactly how Bill wants to attack.”
O’Brien takes a lot of flack. He’s coming off a rough second stint as the New England Patriots offensive coordinator. But he also had an impressive run at Penn State and was better with the Houston Texans than some like to give him credit for.
Now he faces a tall task turning around a struggling Boston College program. But it’s clear he’s got the right attitude and Eagles fans (including BroBible’s own Connor Toole) have reason to be excited.