The man in charge of the New England Patriots’ offensive attack seems enthused to work with his team’s newest quarterback, Canadian Nathan Rourke.
“I just met him in the hallway, so it’s gonna be good to work with him,” offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien said. “We’ll get going with him as soon as possible.”
O’Brien made it clear that he’s not overly familiar with Rourke, though New England’s quarterback situation couldn’t be much more dire.
The Pats recently pivoted away from 2021 first-round pick Mac Jones, who threw 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season while posting a 2-9 record as a starter. Bailey Zappe, who was selected out of Western Kentucky University in the fourth round of last year’s draft, has gone 1-2 as a starter in his place, throwing four touchdown passes and four interceptions.
Sitting at 3-11, the Patriots are set to miss the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons. When asked what it would take for Jones to get back into the starting lineup, O’Brien made it clear that performance in practice will determine who gets to play in the three remaining regular season games.
“I think everybody’s got to be ready to play, especially in the situation that we’re in, I really do. I think that everybody has to be ready to go. Anybody that’s on the 53-man roster has to go out on the practice field and practice well and earn a shot to play and that’s whether you’re a quarterback, receiver, tight end, running back, or offensive lineman,” he said.
“I definitely know that you’ve heard that from (head coach) Bill (Belichick), but that’s the truth. You have to be ready to go because if you practice really well, you’re going to have a real shot to play, so I think that goes for every position.”
Rourke was claimed off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday. As per NFL waiver rules, the native of Victoria, B.C. must be on New England’s active roster for their three remaining games. During the preseason, Rourke completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 348 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions plus carried the ball 14 times for 39 yards and one score.
O’Brien is in his first year returning as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the Patriots following a two-year stint at the University of Alabama. He previously coached in New England from 2007 to 2011 before departing the team to become the head coach at Penn State University.
The 54-year-old native of Dorchester, Mass. also served as the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020, going 52-48 during the regular season with a record of 2-4 in the playoffs.
