Introduction
Ron Cooper (born February 11, 1962) is an American football coach and former player. He presently is the interim head football coach at Florida International University (FIU). Cooper served as the head football coach at Eastern Michigan University (1993–1994), the University of Louisville (1995–1997), and Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (1998–2001). 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.
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.
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. Cooper was fired after three seasons due a steady decline in the team's performance.
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 but lost the SWAC Championship Game to Grambling on December 12, 2000.
Other coaching duties
In 2002, Cooper was the secondaries coach at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, 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 teams 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.
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) (1995–1997) | |||||||||
| 1995 | Louisville | 7–4 | |||||||
| 1996 | Louisville | 5–6 | |||||||
| 1997 | Louisville | 1–10 | |||||||
| Louisville: | 13–20 | ||||||||
| 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–present) | |||||||||
| 2016 | FIU* | 4–3 | 4–3 | 4th (East) | |||||
| FIU: | 4–3 | 4–3 | * Interim HC as of 9/26/16 | ||||||
| Total: | 49–58 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
Coaching tree
Assistant coaches under Ron Cooper who became NCAA or NFL head coaches:
- Todd Monken: Southern Miss (2013–2015)
- Everett Withers: North Carolina (2011), James Madison (2014–2015), Texas State (2016–present)