O'Brien Already Having Big Impact As Florida S&C Coach Joins Staff

The Bill O'Brien effect is already real.

Just two months ago, Florida 'Director of Performance' coach Craig Fitzgerald had just taken the job with the Gators. Hell of a gig right? SEC school, Florida every day, can't get much better.

Well, with O'Brien now the head coach at BC, the relationships he has around both the NCAA and NFL world are more important than the friendly confines of Florida, as Fitzgerald is heading to Chestnut Hill to be the new Strength and Conditioning coach.

Nick de la Torre was the first to report the story on Sunday night.

Fitzgerald recently joined Florida after working with the Giants. That followed a two-year stint at the University of Tennessee, where he served as the director of football sports performance.

Prior to his tenure in Knoxville, Fitzgerald was the head strength and conditioning coach of the Houston Texans from 2014-17 under O’Brien. He helped Houston win back-to-back AFC South division championships in 2015 and 2016,

The relationship goes back further than that with Fitzgerald also serving as the Penn State S&C coach with O'Brien in 2012-13. Fitzgerald joined Penn State after working with Steve Spurrier at South Carolina from 2009-11.

Perhaps best of all, he's also got some local ties, having served as Harvard's Director of Strength and Conditioning from 2005-09 where he oversaw all 41 varsity sports. Harvard won the Ivy League in 2008 and 2009 with him there.

Fitzgerald is one of the best in the country at what he does and he's been doing it since starting his coaching career in 1999. Imagine being able to walk into a room and say 'I hold the highest honor possible in my profession.' Well, he can. Fitzgerald has certification of 'Master Strength and Conditioning Coach' from the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association. He's also National Strength and Conditioning Association certified as well.

Simply put, this is a huge get for BC. Phil Matusz did a very good job here while under Hafley, but any time you can get a coach with this type of pedigree and experience to leave an SEC school and come here, you've got to jump at it.

The O'Brien effect is real already.