Storm’s O’Hara headed to L.A.

Pat O’Hara is going home.

On Friday, the Storm offensive coordinator was named head coach of the Los Angeles Avengers, the Arena Football League team located just a few miles from where he went to high school and not far from where he later played college football.

“I’m real excited,” O’Hara told the Times.

O’Hara will replace Ed Hodgkiss, who was fired after going 5-11 this season (the Avengers lost to the Storm in their season finale). Hodgkiss spent the past seven seasons with the Avengers and was 57-53 during the regular season.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Pat,” said Storm coach/general manager Tim Marcum. “Pat is well-deserving of this opportunity and we are proud of him. He has been with us for some time and we will miss him.”

O’Hara, who turns 40 in September, spent six seasons with the Storm --three as quarterback (2003-04, 2006) and three as offensive coordinator (2005, 2007-08). The Storm ranked seventh in scoring in 2008, with 903 points in 16 games. Under O’Hara’s guidance, Tampa Bay quarterback Brett Dietz has become a star.

O’Hara is a 1986 graduate of California’s Santa Monica High School. He then was a quarterback for Southern California.

O’Hara played 16 seasons of professional football, 14 in the Arena Football League. In 2003, he filled in for an injured John Kaleo to help lead the Storm to a victory over Arizona in ArenaBowl XVII.

O’Hara is particularly close with Marcum, whom he considers a friend and mentor.

“He has been like a father,” O’Hara said. “He said he’s happy for me, and proud of me, but that he’s going to miss me. I’m going to miss him, too. We won a lot of games together.”

O’Hara interviewed for the Avengers position in person the week after the regular season ended. He then had a handful of phone conversations with the organization before finding out last week he was the man for the job.

O’Hara, who is married and has two boys, ages 8 and 6, still has family in the greater-Los Angeles area -- and plenty of friends.

“A lot of my groomsmen are there,” O’Hara said. “It’s going to be nice to have a support system. It’s not like having to go to some strange place.”