Hall of Fame football coaches take on Holy Family program

On the first day of fall football practices, first-year Holy Family Catholic head coach Dan O'Brien missed the afternoon session to support a Fire assistant coach: his 24-year-old son Casey.

First diagnosed with bone cancer at age 13, Casey O'Brien had a scan on Aug. 14. The results were negative. Casey, a six-time survivor, is nine months cancer free.

The family often celebrated positive moments in Casey's cancer journey over dinners at Murray's steakhouse in downtown Minneapolis, but this time the O'Briens celebrated with dinner at home, a mixed grill of chicken, salmon and shrimp. Dan attended to cooking, though Casey kept a close watch on the chicken.

"I like my chicken to be more moist, and he likes his to be crispier," Casey said. "He has a tendency to leave it on too long."

Dan is surrounded by grill masters of sorts on the Holy Family staff. In addition to Casey, he hired longtime friends and Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame members Jeff Ferguson and Dave Nelson. Coaxing the duo, who boast a combined 10 Prep Bowl state championships, out of retirement gives Holy Family the ideal mix of experience and enthusiasm to elevate a program coming off two consecutive winless seasons.

"Some of the parents might recognize our names, but half of our kids don't know any of us," said O'Brien, the former University of Minnesota director of football operations who later led St. Thomas Academy to an overall record of 49-5 and five consecutive state tournament appearances. "Someday they will be hanging out around a campfire talking about how those old guys helped them become better men and better leaders through football."

The season's first game is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at home in Victoria against Academy Force, but O'Brien can already count one victory. Just 23 players finished last season. The Fire has 61 players in grades nine through 12 on the roster this fall.

"Every single coach I've had brought a love for the game. But this year, it's at a different level with these coaches," said senior quarterback Gavin Frye, who is playing under his third different head coach in three varsity seasons. "They've been doing this for years now. They've got so much experience that we as players get to learn from."

Sharing knowledge has been fundamental to O'Brien's relationship with Ferguson and Nelson. When O'Brien began high school coaching, he said, he sought their summer practice plans and "stole everything they did." Ferguson, a substitute teacher at Holy Family and Fire football consultant, returned the courtesy by reaching out to O'Brien to expand the pool of head coach options.

"Turning a program around is a heavy lift," Ferguson said. "We didn't want to just post the position and hope."

To Ferguson's surprise, O'Brien inquired about applying. There were stipulations, however. Ferguson had to be on the staff. So did Nelson. O'Brien also took Casey's temperature about joining the staff — something Casey would never do while his dad coached at St. Thomas Academy.

A graduate from rival Cretin-Derham Hall, Casey said, "The school community there really had my back. I thought it would be wrong to step on anyone's toes."

Now, father and son step on the same field to reinvigorate the Fire program. Years ago, they spent nights in the hospital reviewing game film and praying for the best throughout Casey's almost 20 surgeries, including a full knee replacement and several lung operations.

"It gives you perspective," said Nelson, also a cancer survivor. "Coming back with clean scans the other day is what's really important. Casey is such an incredible, positive person. I don't even know if our players totally yet understand what he represents."

Frye already knows.

"Working with Casey has been a different experience because he's the first coach I've had that has actually played quarterback," Frye said. "And his story — being a man that has gone through adversity. It's amazing."