John O'Grady is a determined and dedicated football coach who enters his 20th season as head coach of Falcon football.

O’Grady was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) Hall of Fame on April 5, 2008. He was honored with the prestigious award based on a combination of his coaching record, longevity and service to the WFCA.

“It is hard to describe why so many coaches have so much passion for coaching. It is not limited to football. I think for many of us we have one or two coaches in our background who have made a big difference in our lives. Many of us like the idea of giving back to the sport and our players as a result,” he said.

The completion of the 2008 season will make O’Grady the longest standing head coach in the program’s history. The Falcons have finished 3-7 the last four seasons, but he is motivated to bring the team back to its past glory.

“This place has obviously meant a lot to me. I’m just happy that I can still work and hope to continue doing so until I find that I can’t do it the way it needs to be done. Getting this program turned around and competing for a conference title is very important to me, “ said O’Grady who has been affiliated with UW-River Falls for 36 years.

A big change came two seasons ago when the Falcons opted to run a zone offense. That ended a streak of 34 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. O’Grady is positive about the changes the team made during the off-season and goes into the new season focusing on strengthening the team’s weaknesses.

“We must play better defense and we cannot throw interceptions at the rate we did last year. The kicking game hurt us in a few games and that phase must also improve,” he said.

O’Grady will make a move from the Falcon offense and work on the defensive side of the ball in 2008. The team welcomes new coaches to help guide it in its defensive efforts. Greg Bower will take over as the team’s new defensive coordinator. Bower spent the last seven years coaching at Northern Illinois University after coaching several years at his alma mater Loras College. Former Green Bay East High School head coach John Kolstad will also join the Falcons this season and will work with the team’s linebackers. Kolstad brings over 30 years of coaching experience to the Falcon program. He will be joined by first-year coach and former Falcon, Jesse Ostertag, who will coach defensive ends. Woody Fangmeier will coach the defensive line for the fifth season. Fangmeier is an alumnus of the program and earned All-American honors as a defensive end. Dan Dietrich returns and will work with Fangmeier on the line for the third season.
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.

On the opposite side of the ball Andy Kotelnicki will lead the team’s offense as the offensive coordinator for the second year. He will also work with wide receivers. Neal Folta will work with running backs for his third season. For the second year Steve Tennies will guide the quarterbacks. Former Falcon guard Nate Tenut joins the team as a coach and will help lead the offensive line. Glenn Hanson brings valuable coaching experience to the team. He joins the team after coaching several years at Tartan High School. He will coach offensive tackles and tight ends this season in addition to lending his expertise to the offensive line.

O'Grady ranks second in all-time football wins among WIAC active coaches with a 98-89-3 overall record. He 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 19 seasons with the Falcons.
In 1998, the Falcons surprised most WIAC observers. The team finished 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the WIAC, which was 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 70-63-3 record in WIAC play.

O'Grady, 54, played for the Falcons as a linebacker from 1972-75 and earned four letters. He was the team’s captain and voted most dedicated in 1975 when the Falcons won their first WIAC title in 18 years.

He got his start at UW-River Falls as an assistant coach of linebackers, secondary and special teams from 1976-80. From 1981-82 O’Grady joined the Badgers as a part-time assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While there, he worked with tight ends and special teams. He would return to Madison for two more seasons in 1985 and work as an offensive line coach and special teams coordinator. He had a tenure at Kent State University in Ohio from 1983-84 as the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator. He also spent time working with the team’s offensive line. He coached for two years at Miami University of Ohio as an offensive line coach and special teams coordinator (1987-88).
O'Grady played football at Sullivan High School of Chicago, Ill. from 1968-71. He 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 River Falls in 1983. O'Grady now teaches classes in the university's health & 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, all but two Falcon football players, who have completed four seasons of eligibility, have earned undergraduate degrees. Many have gone on to highly successful careers in education, coaching and business.

He runs three summer football camps: Wishbone, Kickers and Big O & D. This summer O’Grady’s Wishbone/Big O & Big D combination camp was the biggest in the two-state area of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Some 419 campers and 55 coaches, many UWRF graduates, attended the camp. The Kickers camp has been a mainstay at UWRF for 35 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 31 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 18 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 his nephew who was killed in a hunting accident.

He and wife, Jody, have three children: Lindsey, 27, Jaclyn, 24 and Logan 21. Lindsey, a UWRF graduate, recently earned her master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of St. Thomas. Jaclyn graduated in 2005 from the University of Minnesota with a degree in film studies. Logan studied for two years at St. Thomas but transferred to UW-La Crosse and is majoring in communications. He was a member of the Tommie cross country and track & field teams for two years and now competes with the Eagles’ highly successful cross country and track & field teams.

John O'Grady