 O'Hara in 2021 | |||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1968-09-27)September 27, 1968 (age 57) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Santa Monica(Santa Monica, California) | ||||||||||||
| College | USC | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1991: 10th round, 260th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||
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Operations | |||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career Arena League statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||
| Regular season | AFL: 35–53 (.398) | ||||||||||||
| Postseason | AFL: 1–3 (.250) | ||||||||||||
| Career | AFL: 36–56 (.391) | ||||||||||||
Patrick O'Hara (born September 27, 1968) is an Americanfootball coach and formerquarterback. He previously served as thehead coach of theNew Orleans VooDoo,Orlando Predators andTri-Cities Fever. O'Hara also served as an assistant coach for theHouston Texans,Tampa Bay Storm, andTennessee Titans.
O'Hara playedcollege football as aquarterback for theUSC Trojans and was selected by theTampa Bay Buccaneers in the 10th round (260th overall) of the1991 NFL draft.
In his 16-year playing career, O'Hara has also played for theOhio Glory,San Diego Chargers,Washington Redskins,Orlando Predators,Toronto Phantoms andTampa Bay Storm, and played backup quarterback Tyler Cherubini inOliver Stone's 1999 filmAny Given Sunday. Over the span of his AFL career, he played in fiveArenaBowls, winning three. In2005, he was namedoffensive coordinator of the Storm, in the unique position as aplayer-coach. Then, in2007, after retiring as a player, he resumed the duties ofoffensive coordinator. After the2008 season, on July 25, 2008, he agreed to a three-year deal, with an option for a fourth, with theLos Angeles Avengers to become the fourth head coach in the franchises history.[1] However, the Avengers folded when the AFL went on hiatus.
O'Hara attendedSanta Monica High School, where duringjunior andsenior seasons he threw at least onetouchdownpass a game. He was a two-timeLos Angeles Times All-Westside selection and the "Westside Back of the Year" in 1984 and 1985.
As a junior, in 1984, O'Hara passed for nearly 2,000yards and 23 touchdowns. During his senior season, he passed for nearly 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns in 10 games which earned him "Bay League Player of the Year" honors and selection to theLong Beach Press-Telegram's "Best in the West" team. In 1986 O'Hara was also an All-Bay League centerfielder for the Vikings baseball team.
O'Hara then attendedUSC where his playing time was limited to being abackup. As a sophomore in1988, he served as the backup toRodney Peete, who finished the season as aHeisman Trophy finalist.
O'Hara was expected to be the Trojans' starting quarterback in1989, but suffered two tornligaments in his rightknee and a fractured righttibia in practice 10 days before the start of the season. The injuries required multiple surgeries, including one to graft bone from hiship. He was hospitalized for three weeks, a time in which he lost 35pounds and received a get-well letter from former presidentRonald Reagan.
As a senior in1990, O'Hara served as backup toTodd Marinovich. Marinovich, then a freshman, was given the starting job and helped lead the team to aRose Bowl win againstMichigan inBo Schembechler's last game as ahead coach.[2] O'Hara's arm was impressive enough for someNFLscouts to offer him a workout with them. He graduated with a degree inPublic Administration in 1991.
O'Hara was selected in the10th round (260th overall) of the1991 NFL draft by theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[3] He spent the first 11 weeks on the teamspractice squad before being activated and serving as the team third-string quarterback the remainder of the season.O’Hara holds the unique distinction as the only quarterback selected in modern draft history without ever being a starter in a collegiate game.[citation needed]
Following the1991 season, O'Hara was allocated to theWorld League of American Football'sOhio Glory and subsequently signed by theSan Diego Chargers as a Plan Bfree agent serving as their third-string quarterback for the1992 season. He attendedtraining camp with the Chargers in1993 and theWashington Redskins in1994.
O'Hara transitioned to theArena Football League in1995 season when he signed with theOrlando Predators. He played there for six seasons helping to lead the Predators to wins inArenaBowlsXII andXIV. He then joined theToronto Phantoms in2001 and then theTampa Bay Storm in2003. He helped lead the Storm to a win inArenaBowl XVII afterstarting QuarterbackJohn Kaleo was injured late in the second quarter. In his playing career, O'Hara played in a total of five ArenaBowls and won three.
O’Hara began his coaching career atPoint Loma High School in 1996, working with the Quarterbacks as a volunteer assistant. He later spent three seasons (1998–2000) as an assistant coach atNew Smyrna Beach High School and three seasons (2001–03) as theoffensive coordinator atOlympia High School where he coached NFLrunning backChris Johnson.
In2005, O'Hara was namedoffensive coordinator of the Storm, in the unique position of aplayer-coach. Then after the2006 season, he retired as a player, he resumed the duties of offensive coordinator. His success on the field as a player and as a coordinator had a number of teams interested in him in the 2008 offseason. He interviewed for head coaching positions with theGrand Rapids Rampage and theArizona Rattlers and was a finalist for both jobs. However, On July 25, 2008, he agreed to a three-year deal, with an option for a fourth, with the Los Angeles Avengers to become the fourth head coach in the franchise's history. However, the AFL cancelled its 2009 season, and on April 27, 2009, he was hired as the replacement of Richard Davis as head coach of theTri-Cities Fever ofaf2.[4]
The Fever went 3–8 after hiring O'Hara, finishing 3–13. Although the team invited him to remain on as head coach in 2010, he decided to take an offer to become head coach of theOrlando Predators in theArena Football League on December 21, 2009.[5]
On August 8, 2011, he was named the head coach of theNew Orleans VooDoo.[6] Following the 2015 AFL season the VooDoo ceased operations.
On February 3, 2015, O'Hara was named an offensive assistant coach for theHouston Texans.
On January 26, 2018, O'Hara was hired as the quarterbacks coach for theTennessee Titans.[7]
(2010–2014) O'Hara worked as a television football analyst for Bright House (Spectrum) Sports Network covering Florida high school football. O'Hara also served as color analyst for UCF Img Radio Network covering UCF football (2013–2014). More recently, O'Hara has worked as a color analyst forCBS Sports Network covering the Arena Football League (AFL).
O’Hara's previous off-seasons have included consulting work, coordinating and choreographing football action scenes in movies.[8] He also has coached actors such asAdam Sandler,Mark Wahlberg,Dwayne Johnson andGlen Powell to better help them portray their characters. In addition, O'Hara has appeared in several movies includingThe Waterboy,Any Given Sunday, andThe Game Plan.[8]
| Year | Film | Type | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Chad Powers | Crew | Football administrator | TV series |
| 2025 | Ransom Canyon | Crew | Football coordinator | TV series |
| 2024 | All American | Crew | Football consultant | TV series (2 episodes) |
| 2024 | American Sports Story | Crew | Football consultant | TV series (1 episode) |
| TBA | One Heart | Crew | Football coordinator | Post production |
| 2016 | Love Is All You Need? | Crew | Football coordinator | |
| 2015 | Focus | Actor | Owner | Also served as football coordinator |
| 2015 | The Wedding Ringer | Stunts | Stuntman forJoe Namath | |
| 2012 | Red Dawn | Crew | Assistant football coach | |
| 2011 | Necessary Roughness | Crew | Football consultant | TV series (1 episode) |
| 2010 | When in Rome | Crew | Football consultant | |
| 2009 | Glee | Crew | Football consultant | TV series (1 episode) |
| 2008 | Pride and Glory | Crew | Football consultant | Uncredited |
| 2007 | The Game Plan | Crew | Football coach | Credited as Pat O'Hara |
| 2006 | We Are Marshall | Crew | Football consultant | Uncredited |
| 2006 | Invincible | Crew | Assistant football coach | Credited as Pat O'Hara |
| 2006 | The Shaggy Dog | Crew | Football consultant | Uncredited |
| 2005 | The Longest Yard | Crew | Assistant football coordinator | Credited as Patrick J. O'Hara |
| 1999 | Any Given Sunday | Actor | Tyler Cherubini | |
| 1998 | The Waterboy | Actor | Cougar Quarterback | Uncredited |