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Pat O'Hara will be back as the head coach of the Tri-Cities Fever, general manager Teri Carr confirmed in an e-mail Monday.
O'Hara, who coached the final 11 games for the Fever last season, will sign his contract Nov. 2 during a press conference at Toyota Center.
Coaches and players cannot sign contracts with the new Arena Football 1 league until Nov. 1.
"It's exciting, and I'm excited to be part of it," O'Hara said from his Orlando, Fla., home. "It's been a crazy year."
O'Hara guided the Fever to a 3-8 record after taking over for Richard Davis, who was fired after an 0-5 start.
O'Hara is just the second coach in the six-year history of the franchise to finish one season and start the next. Dan Whitsett is the other. After leading the Fever to the National Indoor Football League championship in 2005, Whitsett returned for most of the 2006 season but resigned before the start of the playoffs.
"When I got up there last April, the team was in trouble, the organization was in trouble," O'Hara said. "We just tried to keep this thing together."
After posting a 3-13 record and second straight losing season in the arenafootball2 league, the franchise was threatened with termination by then-majority owner Doug MacGregor.
But in September, Teri and J.R. Carr bought back the majority of the franchise back and breathed new life into the Fever.
"There just seems to be a new energy about the organization," O'Hara said.
One of the first priorities when the Carrs took over was staying in contact with O'Hara, hoping to lure him back to the Tri-Cities. After several weeks of phone calls, the two sides reached an agreement.
O'Hara is expected to be in town for about two weeks, contacting potential players and assembling a coaching staff.
"I'm ready to get started," he said. "I am truly blessed to come back up there. It's a good situation."
