- John Cooper (American football)
College coach infobox
Name = John Cooper
|Caption =
DateOfBirth = birth date and age|1937|7|2
Birthplace = Knoxville,Tennessee
DateOfDeath =
Sport =College football
College =
Title =
OverallRecord = 192–84–6 (68.1%)
CFbDWID = 439
Player = Yes
Years = 1959 – 1962
Team =Iowa State
Coach = Yes
CoachYears = 1988-2000
1985-1987
1977-1984
CoachTeams =Ohio State University Arizona State University University of Tulsa
FootballHOF = 2008
BBallHOF =John Cooper (born
July 2 ,1937 in Knoxville,Tennessee ) was the head coach of theOhio State Buckeyes college football team from 1988 to 2000.Cooper grew up in the Knoxville suburb of
Powell, Tennessee and joined theUnited States Army afterhigh school . After serving for two years, he enrolled atIowa State University where he played football for four years eventually becoming team captain and MVP.Cooper spent time as an assistant coach at Iowa State,
Oregon State ,UCLA , Kansas, and Kentucky. In 1977, he was named the head football coach at theUniversity of Tulsa , where he compiled a 57-31 record with five Missouri Valley Conference titles. He became the head coach atArizona State in 1985 where his teams played in three consecutivebowl game s, including the 1987 Rose Bowl, during his three-year tenure. Notably, he was just 0-2-1 against arch-rival Arizona. He accepted the job as head coach at Ohio State onDecember 31 ,1987 . It is rumored that he became the front-runner for the head coaching position at Ohio State because of his 1987 Rose Bowl victory over Michigan.During his time in Columbus, he never won an outright Big Ten championship, but shared Big Ten titles in 1993, 1996, and 1998. In his 13 seasons at Ohio State Cooper compiled a 111-43-4 won-loss record, second in Ohio State history behind only
Woody Hayes .Overall, Cooper will be remembered for his many victories at Ohio State but also for his 2-10-1 record against rival Michigan. His most crippling losses to the Wolverines came in 1993, 1995, and 1996. In 1993, Ohio State entered the game undefeated, ranked #5, and heavily favored, only to be shut out by the Wolverines and denied their first trip to Pasadena in almost 10 years. In 1995, Ohio State lost a #2 ranking, the Big Ten title, and another shot at the Rose Bowl by losing to the Wolverines, 31-23, in Ann Arbor.
In 1996, the Buckeyes smelled revenge in Columbus and were ranked #2, but failed to achieve payback. The gut-wrenching 1996 loss, which came by a 13-9 score, prevented a #2 vs. #3 matchup in the Rose Bowl against Cooper's former team,
Arizona State . That team did win the Rose Bowl and finished with a #2 ranking. In 1998, Ohio State again achieved a #2 ranking, winning the Sugar Bowl and again sharing the Big Title.His dismal record against the school's arch-rival, coupled with a lackluster 3-7 bowl record, a bowl-less 6-6 season in 1999, and pervasive academic and discipline problems amongst his players, led to Cooper's
firing after the 2000 season.For a short time following his firing at Ohio State, Cooper worked in the scouting department of the
Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL. He is currently a college football analyst forESPN .Cooper recruited and coached a great deal of talent that would go on to play in the National Football League, including 1995
Heisman Trophy winnerEddie George , 1995Fred Biletnikoff Award winnerTerry Glenn , 1996Outland Trophy winnerOrlando Pace , 1998Jim Thorpe Award winnersAntoine Winfield ,Alonzo Spellman , Robert Smith,Dan Wilkinson ,Joey Galloway ,Rickey Dudley ,Mike Vrabel ,Korey Stringer ,David Boston ,Shawn Springs ,Ahmed Plummer ,Na'il Diggs ,Nate Clements , andRyan Pickett .On
May 1 ,2008 , Cooper was elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame [cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/ncaa/05/01/cfb.hall.ap/index.html|title=Aikman, Cannon, Holtz head for College Football Hall of Fame|date=2008-05-01] .Head Coaching Record
CFB Yearly Record Start
type=coach
team=
conf=
bowl=
poll=bothCFB Yearly Record Subhead
name=Tulsa
conf=Missouri Valley Conference
startyear = 1977
endyear = 1978CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1977
name = Tulsa
overall = 3-8
conference = 2-3
confstanding = 4th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1978
name = Tulsa
overall = 9-2
conference = 4-1
confstanding = 2nd
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Tulsa
overall = 12-10
confrecord = 6-4CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Tulsa
conf = Independent
startyear = 1979
endyear = 1979CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1979
name = Tulsa
overall = 6-5
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Tulsa
overall = 6-5
confrecord =CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Tulsa
conf =Missouri Valley Conference
startyear = 1980
endyear = 1984CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1980
name = Tulsa
overall = 8-3
conference = 4-1
confstanding = 1st
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1981
name = Tulsa
overall = 6-5
conference = 5-1
confstanding = 1st (tie)
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1982
name = Tulsa
overall = 10-1
conference = 6-0
confstanding = 1st
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1983
name = Tulsa
overall = 8-3
conference = 5-0
confstanding = 1st
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1984
name = Tulsa
overall = 6-5
conference = 5-0
confstanding = 1st
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Tulsa
overall = 38-17
confrecord = 25-2CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Arizona State
conf = Pac-10 Conference
startyear = 1985
endyear = 1987CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1985
name = Arizona St.
overall = 8-4
conference = 5-2
confstanding = 2nd (tie)
bowlname =Holiday Bowl
bowloutcome = L 17-18
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1986
name = Arizona St.
overall = 10-1-1
conference = 5-1-1
confstanding = 1st
bowlname = Rose Bowl
bowloutcome = W 22-15
bcsbowl =
ranking = 5
ranking2 = 4CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1987
name = Arizona St.
overall = 7-4-1
conference = 3-3-1
confstanding = 6th
bowlname =Freedom Bowl
bowloutcome = W 33-28
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Arizona St.
overall = 25-9-2
confrecord = 13-6-2CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Ohio State
conf =Big Ten Conference
startyear = 1988
endyear = 2000CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1988
name = Ohio St.
overall = 4-6-1
conference = 2-5-1
confstanding = 7th (tie)
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1989
name = Ohio St.
overall = 8-4
conference = 6-2
confstanding = 3rd (tie)
bowlname = Hall of Fame Bowl
bowloutcome = L 14-31
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = 21CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1990
name = Ohio St.
overall = 7-4-1
conference = 5-2-1
confstanding = 5th
bowlname =Liberty Bowl
bowloutcome = L 11-23
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1991
name = Ohio St.
overall = 8-4
conference = 5-3
confstanding = 3rd (tie)
bowlname = Hall of Fame Bowl
bowloutcome = L 17-24
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1992
name = Ohio St.
overall = 8-3-1
conference = 5-2-1
confstanding = 2nd
bowlname = Citrus Bowl
bowloutcome = L 14-21
bcsbowl =
ranking = 19
ranking2 = 18CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1993
name = Ohio St.
overall = 10-1-1
conference = 6-1-1
confstanding = 1st (tie)
bowlname =Holiday Bowl
bowloutcome = W 28-21
bcsbowl =
ranking = 10
ranking2 = 11CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1994
name = Ohio St.
overall = 9-4
conference = 6-2
confstanding = 2nd
bowlname = Citrus Bowl
bowloutcome = L 24-27
bcsbowl =
ranking = 9
ranking2 = 14CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1995
name = Ohio St.
overall = 11-2
conference = 7-1
confstanding = 2nd
bowlname = Citrus Bowl
bowloutcome = L 14-20
bcsbowl =
ranking = 8
ranking2 = 6CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1996
name = Ohio St.
overall = 11-1
conference = 7-1
confstanding = 1st (tie)
bowlname = Rose Bowl
bowloutcome = W 20-17
bcsbowl =
ranking = 2
ranking2 = 2CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1997
name = Ohio St.
overall = 10-3
conference = 6-2
confstanding = 2nd (tie)
bowlname =Sugar Bowl
bowloutcome = L 14-31
bcsbowl =
ranking = 12
ranking2 = 12CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1998
name = Ohio St.
overall = 11-1
conference = 7-1
confstanding = 1st (tie)
bowlname =Sugar Bowl
bowloutcome = W 24-14
bcsbowl =
ranking = 2
ranking2 = 2CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1999
name = Ohio St.
overall = 6-6
conference = 3-5
confstanding = 8th (tie)
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2000
name = Ohio St.
overall = 8-4
conference = 5-3
confstanding = 4th
bowlname =Outback Bowl
bowloutcome = L 7-24
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Ohio State
overall = 111-43-4
confrecord = 70-30-4CFB Yearly Record End
overall = 192–84–6
bcs = no
poll=two
polltype=
polltype2=ee also
*
List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association References
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