Montclair State University Athletics

Like Giancola, long-time assistant Rich O’Connor begins his 33rd season with the Red Hawks and his 13th as the MSU Offensive Coordinator. One of the most highly-respected and important members of the Montclair State staff, O’Connor, a member of three different Halls of Fame, made the transition to coordinator in 2003 and the MSU offense hasn't skip a beat.

In his tenure the Red Hawks have qualified for five postseason appearances, including three NCAA Playoffs berths in 2009 and 2010. In addition two of Montclair's quarterbacks have been named the NJAC Offensive Player of the Year.

Prior to taking over as offensive coordinator, O'Connor served as offensive backfield and special teams coach where he guided many talented tailbacks in his career. And if one were to look at the MSU Top 10 Rushing list, many of the names there have been coached by O’Connor. Among those included are the top two names on the list - John Walker and Ron Lewis (the two combined for over 6,000 yards in their careers.) Equally as important to O’Connor were the MSU special teams units, which had been among the best in the NJAC year in and year out.

Also during his tenure at MSU, O'Connor, a former high school athletic director as Immaculate Conception and East Orange High Schools, served as the Associate Head Baseball Coach, a position he held until 2002, which he was part of all three MSU national championship teams.

A 1975 graduate of Bridgeport University, O'Connor was inducted into the Newark Hall of Fame in 2013 and has also been enshrined into the St. Mary's (Rutherford) Hall of Fame in 2010 and Essex County Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012. O'Connor was honored by the Essex County Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame with a Coaches Award in 2009.

He resides in Nutley with his wife, Charlene. The couple has a son, Michael.

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