Report: Oregon OL coach Adrian Klemm interviewing for offensive position with New England Patriots

Oregon offensive line coach Adrian Klemm is expected to have another meeting with the New England Patriots, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported Tuesday. Klemm spoke with the team about its offensive coordinator opening, but could be in the conversation for a role under new OC Bill O’Brien.

Klemm spent this past season as the offensive line coach and run-game coordinator at Oregon under Dan Lanning after three seasons as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also worked at UCLA and SMU during his coaching career following five years in the NFL with the Patriots and Green Bay Packers.

As a player, Klemm was part of three Super Bowls with the Patriots after they took him in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft.

New England is making some changes to its coaching staff following an 8-9 record in 2022. O’Brien is gearing up to leave Alabama to take over as offensive coordinator after two years with the Crimson Tide, ESPN reported early Tuesday morning. It marks a return to Foxborough for O’Brien, who worked for the Patriots from 2007-11.

Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien to be named New England Patriots OC

O’Brien has spent the last two years with the Crimson Tide, where he worked closely with Bryce Young and helped him become the first Alabama quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy in 2021. He’ll now return to New England, where he worked from 2007-11, and work with another former Crimson Tide star in Mac Jones.

The Patriots, who went 8-9 this season, took an interesting approach with play-calling this year as assistants Joe Judge and Matt Patricia split the duties.

For Nick Saban, the search is now on for two new coordinators after defensive coordinator Pete Golding left the program for Ole Miss earlier this offseason.

Alabama fans voiced their frustration after some tough performances on offense even though the Crimson Tide averaged almost one more point per game than last year. However, Alabama saw its total offense drop from 488.2 yards per game in 2021 to 475.7 yards per contest in 2022.

The biggest drop in production came in the passing game, though, as Alabama went from 338.2 yards per game last year to 278.3 yards this year. But there are a couple factors in play with that number. Bryce Young suffered a shoulder injury that might have limited his production, and the Crimson Tide used the running game more in 2022. Led by Georgia Tech transfer Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama averaged 197.4 rushing yards per game — 47.4 more yards than it averaged a year ago.