Ronald Louis Cooper (born February 11, 1962) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former player. He is the head football coach at

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...

(LIU), a position he has held since the 2022 season. Cooper served as the head football coach at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

from 1993 to 1994, the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

from 1995 to 1997, and

Alabama A&M University Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M or AAMU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. It was one of about 180 " normal s ...

from 1998 to 2001. He was also the interim head football coach at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

(FIU) for the final eight games of the 2016 season. Cooper worked one season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, as the defensive backs coach for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in 2012. A native of

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, Cooper played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Lee High School and

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU or Jax State) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, mas ...

Coaching career

Eastern Michigan

Cooper was the head football coach at

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

, from 1993 to 1994. At Eastern Michigan, his teams produced a record of 9–13.

Louisville

From 1995 to 1997 Cooper was the head football coach at the

, replacing

Howard Schnellenberger Howard Leslie Schnellenberger (March 16, 1934 – March 27, 2021) was an American football coach with long service at both the professional and college levels. He held head coaching positions with the National Football League (NFL)'s Baltimore Co ...

. 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. On November 19, 1997, Louisville fired Cooper due to a steady decline in the team's performance.

Alabama A&M

Cooper's next head coaching position was at

Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M or AAMU) is a Public University, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Normal, Alabama, Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founde ...

, from 1998 to 2001. His squad won a division championship in

Southwest Athletic Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklah ...

(SWAC) during the 2000 season but lost the

SWAC Championship Game The SWAC Championship Game, officially the Cricket Wireless SWAC Championship Game, is an American college football game that is held annually on the first Saturday in December by the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) to determine its foot ...

Grambling Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana, United States. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African A ...

on December 12, 2000.

Other coaching duties

In 2002, Cooper was the secondaries coach at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, and in 2003 the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

. Other coaching stops have included the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

and the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. Cooper is an alumnus of

LSU

Ron Cooper, coached the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

defensive backs for three seasons. Cooper had been responsible for overseeing perhaps the nation's top secondary in 2011 as the Tigers feature two national award winners in

Morris Claiborne Morris Lee Claiborne (born February 7, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, winning the Jim Thorpe Award a ...

(

Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Payc ...

) and

Tyrann Mathieu Tyrann Devine Mathieu (; born May 13, 1992) is an American professional football safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers. In college he developed a reputation for ca ...

(

Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player of the year in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and profess ...

). Claiborne (SEC Coaches) and Mathieu (AP) each picked up SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2011. It was the second straight year that LSU featured the Thorpe and Bednarik Award winners along with the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

Patrick Peterson Patrick De'mon Peterson Jr. ( Johnson; born July 11, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, where he wo ...

claimed all three honors in 2010 before being taken with the fifth overall pick in the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. As a unit, LSU's secondary accounted for 16 interceptions, nine fumble recoveries and 12 forced fumbles as the Tigers led the nation in turnover margin (+1.69) and ranked fifth in total interceptions with 18. LSU allowed just seven passing touchdowns all season, the fewest by a Tiger team since limiting opponents to only five in 1989. In his first two years with the Tigers, Cooper's expertise coaching the secondary was evident as LSU had one of the best defensive backfields in the country. LSU led the SEC and ranked 10th in the nation in pass defense allowing 169.8 yards per game. Cooper's first year at LSU saw Peterson earn second team All-America honors, while safety Chad Jones was picked in the third round of the NFL draft.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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

FIU

In 2015, Cooper became the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at

. Following Ron Turner's termination in September 2016, Cooper was named interim head coach.

Alabama

On March 1, 2021, it was reported that Cooper had taken a job as an analyst with the Crimson Tide.

Long Island

In January 2022, Cooper was hired as the new head coach of the

Long Island Sharks The LIU Sharks are the athletics teams representing Long Island University's (LIU) campuses in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York. The Sharks compete in NCAA Division I athletics and are members of the Northeast Conference. The LIU Sharks are the ...

Head coaching record

* Interim HC

References

External links

LIU profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Ron 1962 births Living people Alabama A&M Bulldogs football coaches Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Appalachian State Mountaineers football coaches Austin Peay Governors football coaches East Carolina Pirates football coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches FIU Panthers football coaches Jacksonville State Gamecocks football players LIU Sharks football coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches LSU Tigers football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Murray State Racers football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches South Florida Bulls football coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches UNLV Rebels football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches Appalachian State University alumni Players of American football from Huntsville, Alabama Coaches of American football from Alabama African-American coaches of American football 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen