Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

O'Hara makes return to Fever official

By Ben Reynolds, Herald staff writer

There he was, standing behind the podium being introduced as the coach of the Tri-Cities Fever.

Forgive Pat O'Hara if he was having one of those deja vu moments.

It hadn't been a year since the former Arena Football League star was standing in the same place, being asked to do the same thing.

Last April, O'Hara was called on to save the Fever after an 0-5 start to the season. He did admirably making the most of a lost season, leading the team to three wins in its final eight games with a cast of rookies and waiver-wire players.

On Monday, O'Hara was back in his suit, and signing his contract to be the Fever's coach for the upcoming season in the newly-formed Arena Football 1 league in front of more than 100 supporters at Toyota Center.

"I was telling my wife that they wanted me to come back, and she said, 'But you only won three games,' " O'Hara said. "It must of have been a hell of a three games."

O'Hara's summer was memorable, and ended with the most dominating performance of the season and in three seasons for the Fever, beating Central Valley 76-35.

Monday's welcoming party was the end to a telephone courtship between general manager Teri Carr and O'Hara. When Teri and her husband J.R. Carr bought back the majority ownership of the franchise in September from Doug MacGregor, re-signing O'Hara had to be done.

"Can you imagine if I didn't bring him back?" Teri said. "You know what would have happened?"

"It wasn't about the wins and the losses. It was about the difference I saw in the team with him."

And some of his former and current players will attest to the transformation from the first five games under then-coach Richard Davis to the final 11 games under O'Hara.

"It was a big difference," said defensive back DeVon Walker, who along with Ray Little signed player contracts Monday. "It was a real learning experience and Coach O'Hara opened my eyes."

O'Hara returns to the Tri-Cities as more than just a coach for the Fever. He will have to be the team's ambassador in the community, trying to clean up the organization's image that has been tarnished in recent years by coaches and players.

"We need to reconnect with the community and give them a team to be proud of," O'Hara said.

O'Hara is the eighth coach in the franchise's six-year history and only the second to finish one season and start the next.

This is O'Hara's second head coaching job, but the first where he will get to implement his own style and system from the start.

He was hired as the Los Angeles Avengers' head coach prior to the 2009 season, but the team folded and the league subsequently folded before he ever coached a game.

He got his feet wet as head coach last season with the Fever, but never really was able to put his full stamp on the team.

This time, it's all up to him. He is out recruiting the players he wants, the assistant coaches he wants to work with. This is his team.

"It's been a long time coming," O'Hara said. "It's neat to be able to put my own thumb print on it. I have wanted to do it for a while, I just haven't gotten the chance."

Now he has that chance.