Dan O'Brien's Path From Winthrop Bakery To St. Johns Athletic Director

St. John's University Athletic Director Dan O'Brien grew up in a small town in southwestern Minnesota named Winthrop. Winthrop had a population of 1,391 people and was nestled between the towns of Hutchinson and New Ulm and very close to small towns, Gibbon, Gaylord and Fairfax. Dan's Dad owned a bakery in town while his mom stayed at home with their 9 kids. Dan is the 2nd youngest. After the kids became school age, his mother went to school at Mankato State and got a degree in social work. She worked in that field in Sibley County.

Working at the Bakery

Dan's first job was working at his dad's bakery. He recalls splitting the responsibilities with his siblings but he took on a larger role as his siblings graduated and moved out of the area. Dan says he learned a lot and appreciated the time he had working with his family at the bakery. He still loves baked goods today.

Love of Sports

Dan loved sports as a kid and played everything. He recalls focusing on football, basketball, running track and playing baseball. Dan was also in the band and choir. He was later kicked out of the choir. The story is in the audio below. He didn't have a favorite sport as a kid but later gravitated more toward football. Dan says he had a great high school football coach and the team had a lot of success including an appearance in the state tournament. In high school Dan played quarterback and defensive back.

College Football

After graduation, Dan went on to play college football at Normandale College in Minneapolis for 2 years under head coach Fred Moyer before transferring to the University of St. Thomas where he played for head coach Mark Dienhart. He played defensive back in college and recalls getting a lot of playing time and having great memories. At St. Thomas, Dan was a corporate fitness major. He graduated with that degree but went on to coaching football and Benilde St. Margaret's High School right out of college. Dan enjoyed that so much he went back to St. Thomas to get his masters degree in education so he could advance his coaching career.

Coaching Career

Dan started his teaching and coaching career at Lakeville High School. He coached with Larry Thompson at Lakeville for 3 years as an assistant before getting his first head football coaching job at Bemidji High School. He spent 2 years at Bemidji High School in the mid 1990s. Dan wanted to advance his coaching career so he took the defensive coordinator job at Concordia-St. Paul. He recalls loving that opportunity and he stayed there for 7 years. Dan became the head football coach and Athletic Director at Concordia-St. Paul, which is when they made the move to Division II in 1998.

Concordia-St. Paul and University of Minnesota

Dan left Concordia-St. Paul to become the Director of Athletics at Hamline in St. Paul. That's a position he held for 7 years. Dan left Hamline when he as given the opportunity to join Tim Brewster's staff at the University of Minnesota as director of football operations. Coach Brewster was let go by the University but O'Brien stayed in the same role with Coach Jerry Kill. Dan was at the University of Minnesota for 9 seasons which included a move to Associate Athletics Director working with football. He also oversaw the golf program at the University of Minnesota. Dan transitioned from administration to coaching when Tracy Claeys replaced Jerry Kill. He coached defensive backs with Claeys. Claeys was let go on January 23, 2017 along with his entire staff, including Dan.

Back to High School

Dan went back to high school where he spent 5 years at St. Thomas Academy before doing 2 years at Holy Family Catholic. Dan was Director of Community Outreach and head football coach at St. Thomas Academy. He helped lead St. Thomas Academy to the state tournaments all 5 years he was there. Dan left St. Thomas Academy to coach with Hall of Fame retired coaches Dave Nelson and Jeff Ferguson. He took the head coaching job with Nelson and Ferguson as his assistants. At the time Dan took over, Holy Family was 0 for their last 25 games. The group was able to turn that program around in 2 short years including a state tournament appearance in his 2nd year there.

Casey's Fight With Cancer

Dan left Holy Family because his son, Casey O'Brien was diagnosed with cancer in high school. He recalls Casey being in intensive care at Mayo Clinic in Rochester for more than a month fighting for his life. Casey has osteosarcoma, which is a rare and aggressive type of bone cancer. He's been fighting it for more than 14 years which includes more than 40 surgeries. Casey was a holder for the University of Minnesota football team. He is currently a financial advisor for RBC Wealth Management.

St. John's University

Dan was hired as interim Athletic Director at St. John's on April 23, 2025. He was later given the job on a more permanent basis on January 22, 2026. Dan's wife is a part-time teacher in the Twin Cities. The couple have 3 kids, Casey, a daughter who works in New York City and a son, who works in advertising in Los Angeles.

If you'd like to listen to my 4-part conversation with Dan O'Brien, click below.