Penn State’s James Franklin: Bill O’Brien’s Boston College Success Has Been ‘Cool to Watch’

James Franklin and Bill O’Brien go way back. For two seasons from 2003-04, Franklin, then a wide receivers coach, and O’Brien, leading the running backs, worked side by side on Maryland’s coaching staff. Their careers both led them to Penn State, where Franklin succeeded O’Brien as the program’s head coach in 2014.

Now, after a seven-year tenure as head coach of the Houston Texans and a stint as offensive coordinator at Alabama and then the New England Patriots, O’Brien is back leading a college football team: Boston College. 

It’s there that O’Brien has found early success in the form of a 2-1 record, a ranked win over Florida State and a near upset against then-No. 6 Missouri last weekend.

“He’s got a really mobile, dynamic quarterback that has really done some nice things last year. When you got that piece of the puzzle, you could build from there, and Billy’s got tremendous experience doing that, so it’s been cool to watch it,” Franklin said Monday. “Happy for those guys and not surprised.”

O’Brien’s quarterback, Thomas Castellanos, has been, at times, sensational. And his defense looks drastically improved from years prior. 

The Eagles were once a mainstay in the AP Top 25 poll, but had only made an appearance once in the previous 15 seasons. But just two weeks in his first season, O’Brien returned the program back into the rankings. 

There was an argument to be made that Boston College should’ve remained in the rankings after nearly knocking off the Tigers, but, nonetheless, O’Brien’s team is on the outside looking in while receiving 47 votes in the most recent AP Top 25.

If early production has indicated anything, it’s that O’Brien’s Eagles should return to the polls in no time. Franklin is taking notice.

“Now back at BC, which, for a lot of those guys from that part of the country, BC is like a dream job. It’s interesting. I’ve talked to a ton of guys — that BC job is a very desirable job. And if you know Billy’s background, it makes a ton of sense,” Franklin said. “So when that hire happened, when that whole thing went down, I thought it was a win-win for both BC and Billy.”