Boston College Head Football Coach Bill O’Brien is quickly filling out his staff. After luring away recently hired Craig Fitzgerald from Florida to become the team’s new Strength & Conditioning Coach. O’Brien is set to bring in Will Lawing to be the Eagles new Offensive Coordinator.
Sources: Boston College is working to hire New England Patriots tight end coach Will Lawing as the offensive coordinator. He’s a veteran coach who has worked with Bill O’Brien in New England, Alabama and Houston, where he was TE coach in 2019 and 2020.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 13, 2024
The 38-year old Lawing has been with O’Brien for the past decade at every stop since his Penn State days. This past season, he was with the Patriots as the Tight Ends Coach. He started out his coaching career in earnest at Juniata College in 2009 before joining O’Brien’s staff as GA at Penn State in 2013. When O’Brien was hired by the Texans, Lawing followed suit and began a role as a Defensive Quality Control Coach for a number of years. In 2017, the former Tar Heel and North Carolina native became an Offensive assistant before being promoted to Tight Ends Coach there in 2019.
Soon after O’Brien was relieved in Houston in 2020, both men were brought onto Nick Saban’s staff, where Lawing as an Offensive Analyst for the next two seasons. Needless to say, Lawing is one of O’Brien’s right-hand men and just when they may have begun diverting paths, they’re reunited ready for a new challenge both with newfound responsibilities.
Lawing hails from North Carolina and joined the Tar Heels football team as a walk-on. He started out as a defensive back, but moved to wide receiver a few years in. Upon graduation in 2008, he began his coaching career at Juniata College in central Pennsylvania. He quickly became the passing game coordinator in 2010 and offensive coordinator the following year, so while far removed this won’t be his first time with the title.
It was unclear how many new coaches O’Brien was going to bring on to his new staff, but it’s safe to say O’Brien is looking for new blood. He may not be able to (or want to) turnover everyone for the sake of continuity and player familiarity, but this is a step in the right direction. The Eagles need new thinking all around, and O’Brien can’t do it alone. Now he has a lieutenant who is he clearly comfortable with — whether he’s the one calling plays time will tell.
The move likely means Steve Shimko and Rob Chudzinski will not maintain their former roles, and neither will Phil Matusz on the conditioning side. Fitzgerald also has known O’Brien since the Penn State days, and later worked with him at the Texans. However he has had multiple other stops including three seasons with the New York Giants, and on the college side Tennessee, Penn State, South Carolina, Harvard and Maryland.
Welcome to the Heights, Will and Craig!