VICTORIA, Minn. — High school football practice opened up across the state Monday, along with all other fall sports governed by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL).
There are plenty of intriguing storylines, but perhaps none better than the one unfolding in Victoria at Holy Family Catholic, where head coach Dan O'Brien takes over a program that has struggled mightily. O'Brien decided to give up his job at highly-successful St. Thomas Academy in a surprise move earlier this year, and here's where the intrigue comes in - along with O'Brien comes two football coaching legends that are also his friends - Dave Nelson, who made his mark at Blaine and Minnetonka High Schools, and Jeff Ferguson, who coached for decades at Totino Grace. Between the two Hall of Fame coaches, they've won more than 450 games and claimed 10 state championships.
"We have great respect for one another, and for me it's an opportunity to learn from two of the best that have ever been in Minnesota High School Football," O'Brien told Randy Shaver after agreeing to take the job. "They're (Nelson and Ferguson) really great coaches, but even better people."
It's a star-studded coaching lineup tasked with getting Holy Family's football program back up to speed. The Fire has lost 21 straight games dating back to 2020, and when O'Brien signed on the Fire had just 17 players committed to returning for 2023.
On Monday, O'Brien, Nelson, Ferguson and the rest of the staff welcomed 62 players from grades 9-thru-12, a number he said he was "pleased" with.
"That's where it all starts," O'Brien said after Monday's morning practice. "You have to have numbers in order to practice, I think when you start to rebuild a program, that's where we're at and we haven't won a game for 2 1/2 years, kids aren't really to excited to come out until they kind of test us a little bit as a coaching staff."
Along with on-field reps and skill building, O'Brien believes the key to turning around the Holy Family football program starts in the weight room, to get his athletes stronger both mentally and physically. The staff is also putting stock in establishing relationships with players and making sure they have an overall positive experience.
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