Western Kentucky’s football program announced the promotion of Kevin O’Brien to tight ends coach on Wednesday.

O’Brien is entering his second season with the program after working as the assistant offensive line coach during the 2024 season.

In his first season with the program, O’Brien helped the Hilltoppers to an 8-6 record and berths in the Conference USA Championship Game and the Boca Raton Bowl. WKU saw four offensive linemen receive All-CUSA recognition in 2024 – left guard Quantavious Leslie and right tackle Marshall Jackson received Second Team nods, while left tackle Travon Taylor and center Evan Wibberley both were named All-CUSA Honorable Mention.

Prior to joining the WKU staff, O’Brien spent four seasons at Mercer, where he worked as the offensive recruiting coordinator/tight ends coach.

He helped lead Mercer to a 9-4 record, a berth in the FCS playoffs, and top-20 rankings in both the StatsPerform FCS and American Football Coaches Association polls during the 2023 season. The Bears averaged 24.4 points during the season.

In the 2022 season, under the guidance of O’Brien, Drake Starks was named to the 2022 SoCon All-Conference Second Team. Starks logged 135 yards on 14 receptions with four touchdowns. Starks caught two touchdown passes against ETSU in what contributed to a Mercer program record for touchdown passes in a single game by Fred Payton.

O’Brien’s tight end unit helped piece together a Bears offense that averaged 31.7 points per game and more than 400 yards of offense per game en route to a 7-3 record and most conference wins in school history in 2021.

His tight end unit played an integral role in helping the Bears’ offense average 336 yards per game and score 36 touchdowns in 11 games in 2020.

O’Brien came to Mercer from Tennessee, where he spent two seasons as a quality control analyst working with the offensive line and tight ends. He helped coach the likes of Trey Smith and Dominick Wood-Anderson. He worked for former SEC coordinators Jeremy Pruitt and Jim Chaney.

Prior to his time as a Volunteer, O’Brien served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Colorado State. He worked with the offensive line under former WKU offensive coordinator Will Friend and head coach Mike Bobo, where they ranked 11th in the country in total offense.

O’Brien appeared in 22 games over his playing career. He helped the Rams to a 10-3 record as the starting center during his junior season. O’Brien and the Colorado State offensive line helped the team surpass 670 yards of offense on two occasions and ranked 18th in the country in total offense. As a junior and senior, O’Brien was nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy, which is awarded to the top walk-on in the country.