Ron Cooper (American football)

Ronald Louis Cooper (born February 11, 1962) is an American football coach and former player. Currently, Cooper is the defensive backs coach at Arkansas. Cooper served as the head football coach at Eastern Michigan University (1993–1994), the University of Louisville (1995–1997), Alabama A&M (1998–2001), and the interim head coach at FIU (2016). He was the defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012. A native of Huntsville, Alabama, he played high school football at Lee High School and college football at Jacksonville State University.[1]

Ron Cooper
Biographical details
Born (1962-02-11) February 11, 1962
Huntsville, Alabama
Playing career
1979–1982Jacksonville State
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1983Appalachian State (GA)
1984Minnesota (GA)
1985–1986Austin Peay (assistant)
1987–1988Murray State (DC)
1989East Carolina (assistant)
1990UNLV (DC)
1991–1992Notre Dame (assistant)
1993–1994Eastern Michigan
1995–1997Louisville
1998–2001Alabama A&M
2002Wisconsin (DB)
2003Mississippi State (DC)
2004South Carolina (DB)
2005South Carolina (OLB/ST)
2006–2007South Carolina (AHC/DB)
2008South Carolina (S)
2009–2011LSU (DB)
2012Tampa Bay Buccaneers (DB)
2013–2014South Florida (AHC/DB)
2015FIU (DB)
2016FIU (DC/LB)
2016FIU (interim)
2017Texas A&M (DB)
2018–2019Arkansas (DB)
Head coaching record
Overall49–59
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
1 SWAC Eastern Division (2000)

Coaching career

Eastern Michigan

Cooper was the head football coach at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan from 1993 to 1994. At Eastern Michigan, his teams produced a record of 9–13.[2]

Louisville

From 1995 to 1997 Cooper was the head football coach at the University of Louisville, replacing Howard Schnellenberger. In his final season, the Cardinals posted a 1–10 record. The one win came against Illinois who finished the season with no wins (0–11). Cooper's overall record at Louisville was 13–20.[3] On November 19, 1997, Louisville fired Cooper due to a steady decline in the team's performance.[4]

Alabama A&M

Cooper's last head coaching position was at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, from 1998 to 2001. His squad won a division championship in Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2000 season[5] but lost the SWAC Championship Game to Grambling on December 12, 2000.[6]

Other coaching duties

In 2002, Cooper was the secondaries coach at the University of Wisconsin–Madison,[7] and in 2003 the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Mississippi State. Other coaching stops have included the University of South Carolina and the University of Notre Dame. Cooper is an alumnus of Jacksonville State University.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Cooper was hired by the Buccaneers on February 22, 2012 to be the team's defensive backs coach.

Florida International

In 2015, Cooper became the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at Florida International University. Following Ron Turner's termination in September 2016, Cooper was named interim head coach.[8]

Head coaching record

Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Eastern Michigan Eagles (Mid-American Conference) (1993–1994)
1993 Eastern Michigan 4–73–5T–7th
1994 Eastern Michigan 5–65–47th
Eastern Michigan: 9–138–9
Louisville Cardinals (NCAA Division I-A independent) (1995)
1995 Louisville 7–4
Louisville Cardinals (Conference USA) (1996–1997)
1996 Louisville 5–62–3T–3rd
1997 Louisville 1–100–67th
Louisville: 13–202–9
Alabama A&M Bulldogs (NCAA Division I-AA independent) (1998)
1998 Alabama A&M 5–6
Alabama A&M Bulldogs (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (1999–2001)
1999 Alabama A&M 6–53–12nd (East)
2000 Alabama A&M 7–55–2T–1st (East)
2001 Alabama A&M 5–64–34th (East)
Alabama A&M: 23–2212–6
FIU Panthers (Conference USA) (2016)
2016 FIU* 4–44–44th (East)
FIU: 4–44–4* Interim HC
Total:49–59
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References

  1. McCarter, Mark (January 8, 2012). "Ron Cooper's path to LSU and BCS title game began on fringe of Alabama A&M campus". The Huntsville Times. Huntsville, AL: Advance Publications. Retrieved December 5, 2013. Cooper played high school football at Lee, then played for Jacksonville State.
  2. College Football Data Warehouse Archived 2010-12-05 at the Wayback Machine Eastern Michigan all time coaching records
  3. College Football Data Warehouse Louisville all time coaching records
  4. Story, Mark (November 20, 1997). "U of L drops Cooper as coach, citing 'negativity'". Lexington Herald-Leader. Archived from the original on June 1, 2000. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  5. College Football Data Warehouse Alabama A&M all time coaching records
  6. College Football Data Warehouse Alabama A&M 2000 season results
  7. "GamecocksOnline.com - South Carolina Gamecocks Official Athletic Site Official Athletic Site of the South Carolina Gamecocks - Football".
  8. "Ron Turner Relieved of Duties". FIU Sports. September 25, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
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