George O'Leary
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| Date of birth | August 17, 1946 | |
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| Place of birth | Central Islip, New York | |
| Sport | Football | |
| College | Central Florida | |
| Title | Head Coach | |
| Record with Team | 10-21 | |
| Overall Record | 62-54 | |
| Coaching Stats | College Football DataWarehouse | |
| Schools as a coach | ||
| 1996-2001 2001 2004-present |
Georgia Tech Notre Dame Central Florida |
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George O'Leary (born August 17, 1946 in Central Islip, New York) is the head football coach for the University of Central Florida. Before that, he served as the head coach at Georgia Tech and was briefly an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.
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[edit] Georgia Tech
O'Leary was the head coach at Georgia Tech from 1994 to 2001. O'Leary took over the program as interim head coach with three games remaining in the 1994 season coach after then head coach Bill Lewis was fired, due to the team's 1-7 record just three years after winning the 1990 National Championship. He was later named the head coach prior to the 1995 season. After two off years, O'Leary rebuilt the program into a consistent winner, leading the team to a victory in the 1997 CarQuest Bowl in Miami, Florida. O'Leary's 1998 team went 10-2, defeating its arch rival the University of Georgia for the first time in 7 years, as well as the University of Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. For the remainder of his tenure at Georgia Tech, the team went to a bowl game every season.
O'Leary had success at Georgia Tech, winning a Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year award. Interestingly, many Georgia Tech sports at this time (including Football) were later cited for using players that were certified as academically eligible in error and later forced to forfeit their competitive records.
[edit] Notre Dame Controversy
In 2001, O'Leary left Georgia Tech to take over as the head coach for the University of Notre Dame. Five days later, O'Leary resigned after he was discovered to have lied on his resume. On the resume, O'Leary claimed that he had earned a master's degree from New York University when in actuality, he only attended the school but never graduated. He also claimed that he had earned three letters in football at the University of New Hampshire, when the school claimed he had not even played in one game. In a public statement, O'Leary had this to say; "In seeking employment I prepared a resume that contained inaccuracies regarding my completion of course work for a master's degree and also my level of participation in football at my alma mater. These misstatements were never stricken from my resume or biographical sketch in later years."
[edit] Minnesota Vikings
In 2002, O'Leary was hired as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings and served for two seasons. He was credited with improving the 2002 Vikings defense to 10th in the NFL, after it was ranked 30th in 2001. He is also credited with sculpting defensive tackle Chris Hovan into one of the top players at his position.
[edit] University of Central Florida
O'Leary left the Vikings in 2004 to become the head coach at the University of Central Florida. In his first season, the Golden Knights posted their worst season in school history with an 0-11 record.
The team rebounded in 2005 after joining Conference USA. The team finished the season with an 8-3 record (7-1 in C-USA), while losing out-of-conference matchups at South Florida and at South Carolina. They barely defeated Rice leading to a loss to Tulsa at home 44-27 in the C-USA Championship game. The team would then go on to play in the Hawaii Bowl, barely losing to Nevada after UCF kicker Matt Prater missed an extra-point in overtime, ending the game 49-48.
The 2006 season was a disappointment, as UCF posted a 4-8 record (3-5 in C-USA) and missed bowl eligibility. The Golden Knights finished the 2006 campaign ranked 105 out of 119 Division 1-A teams in Total Defense, prompting numerous changes in the defensive coaching staff. Changes included the dismissal of defensive line coach Peter McCarty and secondary coach Miles Aldridge, as well as the demotion of former defensive coordinator Lance Thompson. Additionally, the Golden Knights hired former Iowa State defensive coordinator John Skladany to fill the same shoes at UCF.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: Bill Lewis |
Georgia Tech Head Football Coach 1995–2001 |
Succeeded by: Chan Gailey |
| Preceded by: Bob Davie |
University of Notre Dame Head Football Coach 2001 |
Succeeded by: Tyrone Willingham |
| Preceded by: Mike Kruczek |
University of Central Florida Head Football Coach 2004–Present |
Succeeded by: Current |
| Georgia Tech Head Football Coaches |
|---|
| West • Borleske • Finnegan • Nalley • Collier • Strickler • McKee • Heisman • Alexander • Dodd • Carson • Fulcher • Rodgers • Curry • Ross • Lewis • O'Leary • McWorter • Gailey |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish Head Football Coaches |
|---|
| Harper • Rockne • Anderson • Layden • Leahy • McKeever • Brennan • Devore • Kuharich • Parseghian • Devine • Faust • Holtz • Davie • O'Leary • Willingham • Weis |
| UCF Golden Knights Head Football Coaches |
|---|
| Jonas • Weir (interim) • Saban •Anderson (interim) • McDowell • Kruczek • Gooch (interim) • O'Leary |
