Hartford Colonials head coach Chris Palmer has named Kevin O’Dea as his special teams coordinator as the team prepares for the 2010 United Football League season.
O'Dea spent the past two seasons as special teams coach of the New York Jets following two seasons as the assistant special teams coach for the Chicago Bears, where he helped the Bears lead the NFL in overall special teams rankings.
O’Dea spent two years with the Arizona Cardinals where kicker Neil Rackers set the NFL record for most field goals in a season (40), and before that O’Dea was a special teams assistant for the Detroit Lions. He spent six seasons with Tampa Bay, serving as an offensive and defensive assistant, a role he also held with the San Diego Chargers.
The final three years of his 8-year college football coaching stint came at Penn State where, as a graduate assistant, O'Dea worked with the wide receivers then was named assistant strength coach/defensive line/linebackers. Prior to that, he spent three years at the University of Virginia, as a graduate assistant and assistant strength coach having began his coaching career in 1987 as freshman defensive backs coach at Cornell.
“Kevin has a fantastic track record as a special teams coach and we are delighted to welcome him to the Hartford Colonials,” said coach Palmer. “Special teams is a key element of the game that can make or break a season and that area of our team will be in good hands this season.”
The UFL was developed to "fulfill the needs of football fans in major markets currently under served by professional football by providing a high quality traditional football league comprised of world class professional football players." Led by Commissioner Michael Huyghue, the UFL is being funded by a consortium of private investors. For more information, visit www.ufl-football.com.
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