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BOSTON — Light rain cut through a thick, gray fog choking Foxborough when Bill O’Brien walked into New England Patriots headquarters Monday to end the team’s search for its next offensive coordinator.
O’Brien’s second interview was his final step toward a long-awaited reunion with the franchise that launched his NFL career. Soon, he would be hailed as the savior of an offense in need of resurrection. Because in 2022, the Patriots were dead on arrival.
They averaged 18.1 offensive points per game, and quarterback Mac Jones regressed despite having made, in Bill Belichick’s words, “dramatic improvement” over the previous offseason.