John O'Grady is a determined football coach.

The Falcons have finished 3-7 in each of the last three seasons and O'Grady is determined to return the football program to the success it enjoyed in the past.

A big change came last season when the Falcons ran a zone offense. That ended a streak of 30-plus years of the Falcons utilizing the run oriented wishbone offense. As with any change, there were growing pains. But O'Grady saw improvements throughout the season.

"Our offense is a strong run oriented system. We have to be able to run and pass the ball. It is still what I consider a strong rushing offense, but we need to do both well."

O'Grady will coach the Falcon offense again in 2007 and will get plenty of support from Assistant Coach Andy Kotelnicki who is the team's offensive coordinator.

When the Falcons put together back-to-back NCAA playoff appearances in 1995 and 1996, the Falcon defenses dominated opponents and played a key role in the team's success.

Many of the defensive coaches return and that gives the team needed consistency in coaching methods and strategies. "Jeff Rogers (linebackers) and Woody Fangmeier (defensive line) are assistant coaches who will all be back," said O'Grady. "They will be crucial to our success. We've been running the system for three years and we're all still learning it. Having the assistant coaches back will help in continuing our defensive improvement." The addition of former Falcon Scott Imrie to the staff is also a key. He will coach the defensive backs - the position he played with the Falcons from 1993-96.

O'Grady enters his 19th year as head coach at UWRF and stands second in all-time football wins with a 95-82-3 overall record. Among WIAC active coaches he is second in wins and is seventh in all-time wins of all WIAC coaches. In WIAC play O'Grady has led the Falcons to one first place finish (1998), three second place finishes (1994, 1995, 1996) and five third place finishes (1989, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2001). He has had winning seasons in 10 of his 18 seasons with the Falcons.

In 1998, the Falcons surprised most WIAC observers. The team finished 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the WIAC good for a tie for first place. In 1996 the team finished 9-2 overall and lost to La Crosse (44-0) in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. In 1995 the Falcons were 9-3 overall. The nine wins tied the school record. In the NCAA playoffs the Falcons beat Central, Iowa, (10-7) but then lost to La Crosse (28-14).

O'Grady was named the 1995 WIAC Coach of the Year. His teams have compiled a 68-58-3 record in WIAC play.

O'Grady, 53, played for the Falcons (linebacker) from 1972-75 and earned four letters. He was the team captain and voted most dedicated in 1975 when the Falcons won their first WIAC title in 18 years.

He coached for two years at Miami University of Ohio as an offensive line coach and offensive special teams coordinator. Before that, he coached at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1985-86) as an offensive line coach and special teams coordinator, at Kent State University, Ohio, where he was offensive coordinator/offensive line and offensive special teams coordinator (1983-84), and at the University of Wisconsin as a part time assistant coach of tight ends and special teams (1981-82). He also was an assistant at UW-River Falls (1976-80) as a linebacker, secondary and special teams coach.

O'Grady played football at Sullivan High School, Chicago, Ill., from 1968-71 and was team captain, most valuable player and winner of a coach's award as a senior. He is a native of Worcester, Mass.

He earned his undergraduate degree in physical education from UW-River Falls in 1979 and his master's degree in supervision and instructional leadership from UWRF in 1983. Besides coaching football, O'Grady teaches classes in the University's health and human performance department.

O'Grady is a firm believer in education and helps all UWRF students in pursuit of collegiate degrees. In his career as head coach, 181 of 182 Falcon football players, who have completed four seasons of eligibility, have earned undergraduate degrees. Several have gone on to highly successful careers in education, coaching and business.

He runs three summer football camps - Wishbone, Kickers and Big O & D. About 400 participants and 75 coaches, many of them are UWRF graduates, attend the camps each summer. The Kickers Camp has been a mainstay at UWRF for 34 years and has had top NFL and college kickers attend as counselors. Gary Zauner, a special teams coach for several NFL teams, has been a counselor for 30 years.

O'Grady is well known as a speaker and clinician throughout the midwest. He has given presentations at the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association spring clinic several times and has addressed participants at the Indiana Wishbone Coaches Association clinic. He has been invited to give clinics in Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Minnesota. For the past 17 years he has worked with former Falcon football player and teammate, Darryl Herrick, at a football camp in Gilman, Wis. The camp was established by Herrick, who is the superintendent of the Cedarburg school district, in memory of a nephew who was killed in a hunting accident.

He and wife, Jody, have three children: Lindsey, 26, Jaclyn, 23 and Logan 20. Lindsey, a UWRF graduate, is completing her master's degree in curriculum and instruction at the University of St. Thomas. Jaclyn graduated in 2005 from the University of Minnesota with a degree in film studies. She is now working on a master's degree in film studies in Australia. Logan studied for two years at St. Thomas but has transferred to UW-La Crosse and is majoring in communications. He was a member of the Tommie cross country and track & field teams the past two years and will compete with the Eagles highly successful cross country and track & field teams.

John O'Grady