Friday Football Fever Profile

A familiar face roamed the sidelines for Loyola last season, as Mike Greene stepped out of retirement to be the interim head coach for the Flyers. Coach Greene had so much fun in 2021, he decided to remove that interim tag.

"My wife told me after the first week I was back, 'You know, I like you a lot better when you're coaching football. You're a lot nicer.' I guess it wears me out out here. My whole family is excited, they come to the games, and it's how my kids were raised on Friday night."

Among those most thankful for coach Greene's return, his players.

Cooper DeFatta says, "He will motivate you to run through a brick wall."

Andrew DeFatta adds, "He could convince you to jump of a bridge and we'll win and everyone would do it."

For his part, Greene says, "I think I could get them running sprints, forget and go in, and they would keep doing it until they died. They just say yes sir and do what you need them to do."

There's no better example of that on the Flyer roster than senior quarterback Cooper DeFatta. While serving as the backup last season, Cooper made this plea to his coach.

"I just want to play. I just want to get on the field. Sitting on the bench isn't fun, but more than that, I know I can help this team and I really want to help this team."

DeFatta would eventually get his chance as a linebacker and the lead the team in tackles.

Greene says of his ability, "It took him a couple of games to learn it. Next thing you know, at the end of the season he said coach this is the most fun I've ever had in football and he's really a quarterback. He begs to play defense every day and I tell him we're going to have to wait a little bit until we pound you so much."

Cooper adds, "I'm just waiting on them to come back to me."

He says playing defense has given him a fresh set of eyes under center. He's also opened the eyes of his teammates that also play both sides of the ball, including his cousin and all state lineman Andrew DeFatta.

"It's inspiring because it shows you can change position and anyone can do that if they work hard enough," Andrew explains. "They can go to any position and do their best."