The time was right for Josh O’Shea to be a head football coach again, and so was the place.
On Dec. 17, Reavis announced the hiring of O’Shea to succeed Tim Zasada as the Rams’ coach.
O’Shea was Tinley Park’s football coach from 2018-21, going 10-23. He also was the Titans’ baseball coach from 2015-24, posting a 189-108 record with a pair of Class 3A regional titles.
He’s the father of two teenagers, a boy and a girl.
“My son is a three-sport guy,” O’Shea told Southwest Regional. “It got to be where I was missing stuff of his.”
After stepping down from the Tinley Park football job, O’Shea coached his son’s football teams for a couple years.
Meanwhile, he took a job as an industrial technology teacher at Reavis. O’Shea was on the baseball staff in the spring of 2025 and then moved to Zasada’s football staff in the fall.
“(Zasada) called and let me know (he was leaving) right after the season,” O’Shea said.
The stars were aligned for him to get back on the sideline, and he was hired.
“This is a much better time for me now,” O’Shea said, noting his son is entering high school next fall. “I’m excited to be back at it.”
Zasada’s son, Parker, was a football and baseball mainstay for the Rams before graduating in the spring. O’Shea said there could be another father-son duo on the horizon.
“That’s the plan,” O’Shea said. “(My son) has been the Reavis ball boy the last couple years.”
He takes over a program that was competitive under Zasada, who was 72-58 with eight IHSA playoff berths in 14 seasons. The Rams were 6-4 and reached the 7A playoffs last fall.
O’Shea is excited about the infrastructure improvements at Reavis, including a new fieldhouse and an upcoming renovation of the football stadium.
“I’m never going to say a bad word about Tinley Park, (but) the Reavis administration is very dedicated to athletics,” O’Shea said.
Much of the staff will stay on board, including offensive line coach and former NFL player Tony Pape. Zasada has expressed a desire to remain in the program, likely at the lower levels.
And O’Shea already has reached out to the Burbank Titans youth program to set up a clinic on Dec. 30.
O’Shea is eager to get started and build on the foundation Zasada laid down.
“I think it’s a great job,” O’Shea said. “The community is great, I feel like the kids are proud to go to Reavis.”