O'Brien's first coaching position was at Brown, where he coached
tight ends in 1993 and inside linebackers in 1994. He then spent the next three seasons (1995–1997) as an offensive graduate assistant at
Georgia Tech.
[6]
He then coached the
Yellow Jackets'
running backs from the 1998 season through 2000 season. In 1999, running back Sean Gregory ran for 837 yards with six touchdowns. In 2000, running back
Joe Burns ran for 908 yards with 12 touchdowns.
[7]
From 2001 to 2002, O'Brien served as offensive coordinator and
quarterbacks coach and was named an assistant head coach for the 2002 season. In 2002, O'Brien was hired as Notre Dame's offensive Coordinator before
George O'Leary was dismissed. As
offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech in
2001 and
2002, his teams averaged 31 and 21.5 points per game, respectively as the teams went 9–4 and 7–6.
[8][9] In 2001, running back Joe Burns ran for 1,165 yards with 14 touchdowns and quarterback
George Godsey threw for 3,085 yards with 18 touchdowns. In 2002 under
Chan Gailey, running back
Tony Hollings ran for 633 yards with 11 touchdowns and wide receiver
Kerry Watkins got 1,050 yards and 5 touchdowns.