John O'Grady enters his ninth season on the Warhawk football coaching staff as a special teams coach in 2022. O'Grady brings more than 30 years of knowledge coaching at the collegiate level to the staff.Â
In 2019, the Warhawks reached the Stagg Bowl (national championship game) and claimed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship. UW-W led the conference in both kickoff return average (21.9 ypr) and punt return average (12.2 ypr) and blocked five punts during the season, tied for the sixth-most in NCAA Division III.
O'Grady is no stranger to the WIAC. He was the head coach for 22 seasons (1989-2010) at UW-River Falls, where he amassed a record of 105-112-3, the sixth-most wins in WIAC history. His league record was 74-80-3 and included Coach of the Year honors in 1995.
O'Grady's next stop was a two-year stint as the assistant head coach at UW-Oshkosh from 2011-2012. He helped the Titans to a WIAC title and was named 2012 NCAA Division III Coordinator of the Year by footballscoop.com. In 2013, he was on the sidelines for UW-Stout as tight ends coach.
O'Grady was a linebacker for the UW-River Falls from 1972-75. He was named team captain and most dedicated in 1975, when the Falcons notched their first conference title in 18 years. Following his playing career, O'Grady was a student assistant coach for the Falcons' 1976, 1979 and 1980 WIAC championship teams.
A Chicago native, O'Grady was inducted to the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2008. He earned his bachelor's in physical education from UW-River Falls in 1979 and his master's in supervision and instructional leadership from the same institution in 1983.
Â
