Former Superior resident Scott O'Brien has been hired by the New England Patriots, according to an NFL source and the Denver Post.
O'Brien, the Denver Broncos' special teams coach the past two seasons, is leaving for New England, where he will be reunited with head coach Bill Belichick.
Belichick was coaching the Cleveland Browns in 1991 when he gave O'Brien his first NFL job. While O'Brien's role is not yet defined, he is reportedly going to fill the special teams spot vacated by Brad Seely, who held the title for the past 10 seasons and was named to Eric Mangini's staff in Cleveland.
O'Brien, 51, has 16 seasons of NFL experience as a special teams coach with Denver, Carolina and Cleveland/Baltimore. He previously worked with Belichick in Cleveland and with the Browns was named special teams coach of the year by his peers in 1994.
O'Brien's position with the Broncos is expected to be filled by Kansas City special teams coach Mike Priefer, who was given permission by the Chiefs to interview with Denver and new head coach Josh McDaniels.
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O'Brien, who also coached with Packers head coach Mike McCarthy at the University of Pittsburgh in the late 1980s, played at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and went to training camp with the Packers in 1979 as a defensive end. Later, he coached at UWS from 1980-82.
The Boston Herald and Denver Post contributed to this report.
