The Patriots’ offensive coordinator will reportedly leave the team for a position at Ohio State.

The New England Patriots and Bill O’Brien will go their separate ways in 2024. As was reported on Thursday night, the team’s offensive coordinator will leave to take the same job at Ohio State.

Who will replace O’Brien has yet to be determined, or at least announced. Fact is, however, that his departure after only one season at the job will have an impact beyond creating an open spot on new head coach Jerod Mayo’s staff.

Let’s therefore take a big-picture look at what it might mean for the Patriots moving forward.

The Patriots are in full reset mode on the offensive side of the ball: With the offensive coordinator now off to OSU and a new quarterback likely to be brought aboard either in free agency or through the draft (or both), the Patriots are starting from scratch on offense. How exactly they will rebuild that side of the ball remains to be seen, but they do have the opportunity to make some major modifications.

The personnel is one part of it. The scheme is another.

For a quarter century, New England ran a variation of the Erhardt-Perkins system that proved to be highly successful. However, the scheme itself is notoriously challenging because it requires a lot from the players both before and after the snap.

With the right personnel on the sidelines and on the field, it can be one of the most difficult offenses to defend because of its adaptability to every situation — if a team plays a certain defense, the conceptual details are flexible enough to change on a snap-by-snap basis. However, finding that personnel has proven itself to be a challenge even when Tom Brady was still running the show at quarterback.

With him long gone and the other remnants of that system now departing as well, the Patriots have a chance for some drastic change if they so choose.

New England might have three new coordinators in 2024: The Patriots are not just looking to replace their offensive coordinator, they also might make changes on defense and special teams as well. As previously reported, Jerod Mayo requested interviews with both Carolina Panthers outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu and Atlanta Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams.

Even if a majority of players is retained from 2023, some key stakeholders will look different. Within one offseason, the face of the Patriots could change dramatically.

Mac Jones will have a new offensive coordinator for a fourth straight NFL season: It likely will not matter much because the Patriots are a realistic candidate to select a quarterback early in the 2024 NFL Draft in hopes of finding a long-term solution at the position. That said, if Mac Jones remains with the club in whichever capacity after all he will now have to work with yet another offensive coordinator.

Following his arrival in New England as a first-round draft pick in 2021, Jones was coached by Josh McDaniels and showed plenty of promise. The following two years — under Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, as well as under Bill O’Brien — he took a massive step back, to a point where he was benched in favor of Bailey Zappe.

There are serious doubts whether or not a new OC will be able to revive Jones’ career in New England. Fact is, however, that a lack of coaching stability certainly did not do the 25-year-old many favors over the last three years, something that is true for the Patriots offense as a whole.

O’Brien may not end up as the only departure on offense: A new head coach plus a change at coordinator might open the floodgates on the offensive coaching staff. O’Brien ending up as the only departure therefore seems highly unlikely, and a look at the rest of the staff reveals some potential candidates to leave New England as well.

Evan Rothstein (Assistant quarterbacks): Rothstein was O’Brien’s right-hand man in 2023. He did hold a variety of roles since his arrival in 2021, meaning that an in-staff reassignment might be possible as well, but seeing him leave alongside his boss looks like the most plausible option at this point in time.

Vinnie Sunseri (Running backs): Despite his defensive background, Sunseri did get a lot out of New England’s running back group since taking over for Ivan Fears. While his future will depend on the incoming OC, he looks like a capable offensive coach.

Troy Brown (Wide receivers/Kick returners): Brown’s coaching record since he started working with the wideouts in 2021 is largely underwhelming. Not all of the issues at the position fall squarely on his shoulders, but the NFL is a production business at the end of the day — and that production hasn’t looked particularly good. His future is TBD, even though him representing the club at the Senior Bowl might hint at a possible return.

Will Lawing (Tight ends): A long-time collaborator of O’Brien, Lawing arrived alongside him last offseason. It seems they are a package deal of sorts, meaning that the Patriots might very well be in the market for a new tight ends coach (in an offseason where their top-3 at the position are all headed for unrestricted free agency).

Adrian Klemm (Offensive line): Klemm missed the last two months of the season due to a health issue, and his return seems uncertain. The 46-year-old is under contract, but given his unclear medical outlook and the Patriots’ offensive line struggles in 2023 everything appears to be on the table.

Billy Yates (Assistant offensive line): Klemm’s responsibilities were split after his departure, with a majority falling on his assistant. Yates is well-respected in the building, but one has to wonder whether he is ready to take on the full-time role under a new coordinator.

In addition to those six assistants, the Patriots also need to find a new quarterbacks coach. O’Brien held that role alongside his coordinator title, meaning that somebody now will have to fill that void — be it the next OC or a separate coach altogether.

All eyes will be on Josh McDaniels: When it comes to replacing Bill O’Brien one name will come up fairly frequently in the near future: that of one of his predecessors, the aforementioned former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. There are arguments both in favor of and against bringing the long-time assistant back into the fold after his unsuccessful head coaching stint in Las Vegas.

McDaniels is as experienced an OC as you can find and has enjoyed tremendous success in New England. He also would be able to run the show on offense on his own, meaning that his presence would free up the team’s first-time head coach to concern himself with other issues.

On the flip side is the aforementioned scheme continuity. McDaniels would represent anything but a clean cut in that regard; he was brought up in the Erhardt-Perkins system and would continue running it upon a potential return.

Obviously, though, the 47-year-old is not the only candidate on the market. And as the first inquiries made by Jerod Mayo have shown, he is not afraid to look beyond the Bill Belichick coaching family.