Berj Najarian is reportedly leaving the Patriots for a role at Boston College
Najarian is set to join Bill O'Brien in the role of chief of staff.
Boston College is reportedly hiring another former Bill Belichick assistant: Berj Najarian, who worked for the Patriots alongside Bill Belichick for the last 24 years, is reportedly heading to Boston College to become the chief of staff for the football program.
Najarian, whose official title in New England for much of his tenure was director of football/head coach administration, was seen as one of Belichick’s most trusted people in the Patriots’ organization.
He will join fellow former Patriots assistant Bill O’Brien (who was recently hired to be the BC’s new head coach), according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel:
Najarian proved to be efficient and reliable during Belichick’s time, handling (as the former head coach told The Boston Globe in 2019) “the non-football stuff.”
“We could probably talk about that for a week,’’ Belichick told Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy about Najarian’s many Patriots roles. “He does a lot. There’s football, non-football. Scheduling. Just a lot of things I need to be aware of and logistical things that need to be taken care of. Some things we talk about and some things he just knows what he needs to do.”
Trivia: Boston College football has profited from its NFL connections over the years. In 1993, BC upset No. 1 ranked Notre Dame in South Bend 41-39 in one of the more memorable wins in program history. Who was the head coach for BC in that game?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He eventually left BC to become the first head coach in Jacksonville Jaguars history.
Scores and schedules:
The Bruins defeated the Oilers 6-5 in an overtime thriller. Charlie McAvoy provided the winning goal (see the highlight at the bottom). Boston plays again tonight against the Flames in Calgary at 9 p.m.
PWHL Boston also got a win, defeating Ottawa 3-1 at the Tsongas Center.
And the Revolution kicked off the 2024 season with a 1-0 win in Panama over Club Atlético Independiente in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. New England opens its MLS campaign away at D.C. United on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
More from Boston.com:
- Takeaways: Battered Bruins earn OT win to begin road trip
- 3 takeaways from the Revolution’s season-opening Champions Cup win in Panama
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- NESN’s Jack Edwards opens up about his speech issues, saying he is fine medically and puzzled himself
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- How much would it cost the Patriots to trade up for the No. 1 pick? An ESPN insider has a prediction.
- Jaylen Brown flies to Puerto Rico, explores local partnerships to increase educational access
- Jayson Tatum explained why he thinks he’s the best player in the NBA
- The Revolution begin a new era under Caleb Porter. Here’s what that might look like.
- Kevin Durant had high praise for top basketball prospect Cooper Flagg
- How the 12-team college football playoff will work
A DeBrusk family moment: Lou DeBrusk, an analyst for Sportsnet, made a fun callback during Wednesday’s game to when his son, Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk, was just a kid with a “golden ticket.”
“I looked over this whole coupon, and it doesn’t have an expiration date,” Lou told his son. “So I’m cashing it in tonight, kiddo.” Jake notched both a goal and an assist (per the ticket), but acknowledged he might’ve been a little tired to do 30 push-ups.
On this day: In 1980, the U.S. men’s hockey team defeated the Soviet Union 4-3 at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics. It was a colossal upset — coming only a few weeks after the Americans were trounced 10-3 in a pre-Olympic warmup game against the Soviets — and would become iconically known as the “Miracle on Ice.”
Daily highlight: What else could it be today but McAvoy’s skillful winning goal?
Trivia answer: Tom Coughlin
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