George O'Leary: SMU's next HC?
Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 6:55 pmfrom www.wikipedia.org
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 won the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the year in 2000 and the ACC Coach of the Year Award in 1998 and 2000. During his seven-year stint at Georgia Tech, O'Leary guided the Yellow Jackets to a 52-33 (.612) record, including five bowl appearances. From 1995-2001, Georgia Tech recorded five winning seasons in six years, including the 1998 ACC Co-Championship and an appearance in the Toyota Gator Bowl on New Year's Day. O'Leary's Georgia Tech teams won at least seven games four times during his tenure, including a 10-win season in 1998 and a nine-win campaign in 2000.
During an NCAA investigation, it was revealed that the Georgia Tech football program used ineligible players while O'Leary was head coach. Although these infractions were due to the deficiencies in the school's administration, Georgia Tech was later required to vacate the performances of the football team for games in which these ineligible players participated (though this was later overturned on appeal). Further, Georgia Tech was placed on probation and lost scholarships because of the violations.
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 fact 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.
Notre Dame initially supported O'Leary when the discrepancies concerning his athletic career at New Hampshire came to light, as O'Leary assured the school that there was nothing else they needed to know. When further background checks found that O'Leary had falsified his academic credentials, as well, the school asked for his resignation. "Due to a selfish and thoughtless act many years ago, I have personally embarrassed Notre Dame, its alumni and fans," O'Leary said in a statement that was released that day.
O'Leary blamed the inaccuracies on 'resume padding' that had followed him through his career: "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."
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.
O'Leary left the Vikings in 2004 to become the head coach at the University of Central Florida. In his first season, the 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. UCF defeated Rice to clinch the CUSA East Division and earned the right to host the first-ever C-USA Championship Game, a loss to Tulsa that was played in front of over 51,000 people. 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. The Knights were just the sixth team in NCAA history to go to a bowl a year after going winless. O'Leary was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in addition to being named National Coach of the Year by CBSSportsLine.com and SportsIllustrated.com. Facing an 11-game schedule with just four home games, O'Leary's UCF squad became just the fourth team in NCAA history to earn a bowl berth while playing seven road games in an 11-game schedule.
The 2006 season was a disappointment, as UCF posted a 4-8 record (3-5 in C-USA) and missed bowl eligibility. The 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.
During O'Leary's leadership, UCF has made more of an effort to improve the athletic facilities on campus. On September 15th of 2007, it opened its 45,000 seat on-campus football facility, Bright House Networks Stadium with a disappointing loss to the Texas Longhorns on ESPN. O'Leary has also been instrumental in getting state-of-the-art practice fields and an indoor football practice facility, the only one of its kind in Florida. UCF opened the 2007 season with a 25-23 victory against ACC team North Carolina State. This was the 1st BCS victory of the O'Leary era.
Despite the lack of consistent on-field success thus far, O'Leary has reshaped the UCF football program in regards to improved academic results in the classroom and overall team discipline on and off the football field. Since O'Leary's arrival, UCF has posted its top two fall semester team grade point averages in the classroom. The Knights set a new school Division I-A history record with a 2.78 team GPA in 2004, only to break that mark with a 2.808 team GPA in the fall of 2005. In 2005, UCF placed 39 student-athletes on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, the most of any football squad in the conference. O'Leary's first recruiting class showed 82 percent of the class receiving academic honor roll accolades. The impressive honor roll number was not limited to the newcomers as 40 percent of the entire team earned a 3.00 GPA or higher during the fall 2004 semester.
George O'Leary was an instrumental part of the "Central to our Future" capital campaign that raised over $356 million, serving as the figure head for the fund raising arm of UCF athletics.
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 won the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the year in 2000 and the ACC Coach of the Year Award in 1998 and 2000. During his seven-year stint at Georgia Tech, O'Leary guided the Yellow Jackets to a 52-33 (.612) record, including five bowl appearances. From 1995-2001, Georgia Tech recorded five winning seasons in six years, including the 1998 ACC Co-Championship and an appearance in the Toyota Gator Bowl on New Year's Day. O'Leary's Georgia Tech teams won at least seven games four times during his tenure, including a 10-win season in 1998 and a nine-win campaign in 2000.
During an NCAA investigation, it was revealed that the Georgia Tech football program used ineligible players while O'Leary was head coach. Although these infractions were due to the deficiencies in the school's administration, Georgia Tech was later required to vacate the performances of the football team for games in which these ineligible players participated (though this was later overturned on appeal). Further, Georgia Tech was placed on probation and lost scholarships because of the violations.
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 fact 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.
Notre Dame initially supported O'Leary when the discrepancies concerning his athletic career at New Hampshire came to light, as O'Leary assured the school that there was nothing else they needed to know. When further background checks found that O'Leary had falsified his academic credentials, as well, the school asked for his resignation. "Due to a selfish and thoughtless act many years ago, I have personally embarrassed Notre Dame, its alumni and fans," O'Leary said in a statement that was released that day.
O'Leary blamed the inaccuracies on 'resume padding' that had followed him through his career: "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."
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.
O'Leary left the Vikings in 2004 to become the head coach at the University of Central Florida. In his first season, the 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. UCF defeated Rice to clinch the CUSA East Division and earned the right to host the first-ever C-USA Championship Game, a loss to Tulsa that was played in front of over 51,000 people. 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. The Knights were just the sixth team in NCAA history to go to a bowl a year after going winless. O'Leary was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in addition to being named National Coach of the Year by CBSSportsLine.com and SportsIllustrated.com. Facing an 11-game schedule with just four home games, O'Leary's UCF squad became just the fourth team in NCAA history to earn a bowl berth while playing seven road games in an 11-game schedule.
The 2006 season was a disappointment, as UCF posted a 4-8 record (3-5 in C-USA) and missed bowl eligibility. The 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.
During O'Leary's leadership, UCF has made more of an effort to improve the athletic facilities on campus. On September 15th of 2007, it opened its 45,000 seat on-campus football facility, Bright House Networks Stadium with a disappointing loss to the Texas Longhorns on ESPN. O'Leary has also been instrumental in getting state-of-the-art practice fields and an indoor football practice facility, the only one of its kind in Florida. UCF opened the 2007 season with a 25-23 victory against ACC team North Carolina State. This was the 1st BCS victory of the O'Leary era.
Despite the lack of consistent on-field success thus far, O'Leary has reshaped the UCF football program in regards to improved academic results in the classroom and overall team discipline on and off the football field. Since O'Leary's arrival, UCF has posted its top two fall semester team grade point averages in the classroom. The Knights set a new school Division I-A history record with a 2.78 team GPA in 2004, only to break that mark with a 2.808 team GPA in the fall of 2005. In 2005, UCF placed 39 student-athletes on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, the most of any football squad in the conference. O'Leary's first recruiting class showed 82 percent of the class receiving academic honor roll accolades. The impressive honor roll number was not limited to the newcomers as 40 percent of the entire team earned a 3.00 GPA or higher during the fall 2004 semester.
George O'Leary was an instrumental part of the "Central to our Future" capital campaign that raised over $356 million, serving as the figure head for the fund raising arm of UCF athletics.
