David OConnor served as the offensive coordinator at Lee high school in Huntsville for five seasons before landing his first head coaching job at the school in 2002 at the age of 35. Over the next four seasons his teams finished a combined 26-17 and reached the playoffs three times. He was named coach of the year by the Huntsville Times in 2005.

OConnor moved to Giles County high school in Tennessee in the fall of 2006 where he accepted the head football coaching position. His seven teams at Pulaski, TN, went 75-17 and won the 2009 state championship with a 14-1 record.

Coach OConnor took over the football program at Buckhorn in 2013. His first team qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2005 with a 6-5 record.