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]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 11, 1962 Huntsville, Alabama |
| Playing career | |
| 1979–1982 | Jacksonville State |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1983 | Appalachian State (GA) |
| 1984 | Minnesota (GA) |
| 1985–1986 | Austin Peay (assistant) |
| 1987–1988 | Murray State (DC) |
| 1989 | East Carolina (assistant) |
| 1990 | UNLV (DC) |
| 1991–1992 | Notre Dame (assistant) |
| 1993–1994 | Eastern Michigan |
| 1995–1997 | Louisville |
| 1998–2001 | Alabama A&M |
| 2002 | Wisconsin (DB) |
| 2003 | Mississippi State (DC) |
| 2004 | South Carolina (DB) |
| 2005 | South Carolina (OLB/ST) |
| 2006–2007 | South Carolina (AHC/DB) |
| 2008 | South Carolina (S) |
| 2009–2011 | LSU (DB) |
| 2012 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (DB) |
| 2013–2014 | South Florida (AHC/DB) |
| 2015 | FIU (DB) |
| 2016 | FIU (DC/LB) |
| 2016 | FIU (interim) |
| 2017 | Texas A&M (DB) |
| 2018–2019 | Arkansas (DB) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 49–59 |
| 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 | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Michigan Eagles (Mid-American Conference) (1993–1994) | |||||||||
| 1993 | Eastern Michigan | 4–7 | 3–5 | T–7th | |||||
| 1994 | Eastern Michigan | 5–6 | 5–4 | 7th | |||||
| Eastern Michigan: | 9–13 | 8–9 | |||||||
| Louisville Cardinals (NCAA Division I-A independent) (1995) | |||||||||
| 1995 | Louisville | 7–4 | |||||||
| Louisville Cardinals (Conference USA) (1996–1997) | |||||||||
| 1996 | Louisville | 5–6 | 2–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1997 | Louisville | 1–10 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
| Louisville: | 13–20 | 2–9 | |||||||
| 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 | 6–5 | 3–1 | 2nd (East) | |||||
| 2000 | Alabama A&M | 7–5 | 5–2 | T–1st (East) | |||||
| 2001 | Alabama A&M | 5–6 | 4–3 | 4th (East) | |||||
| Alabama A&M: | 23–22 | 12–6 | |||||||
| FIU Panthers (Conference USA) (2016) | |||||||||
| 2016 | FIU* | 4–4 | 4–4 | 4th (East) | |||||
| FIU: | 4–4 | 4–4 | * Interim HC | ||||||
| Total: | 49–59 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
- 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.
- College Football Data Warehouse Archived 2010-12-05 at the Wayback Machine Eastern Michigan all time coaching records
- College Football Data Warehouse Louisville all time coaching records
- 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.
- College Football Data Warehouse Alabama A&M all time coaching records
- College Football Data Warehouse Alabama A&M 2000 season results
- "GamecocksOnline.com - South Carolina Gamecocks Official Athletic Site Official Athletic Site of the South Carolina Gamecocks - Football".
- "Ron Turner Relieved of Duties". FIU Sports. September 25, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.