Head Coach Ron Cooper
Ron Cooper, a successful and seasoned coach with experience at top ranked universities has been tabbed to lead LIU’s Division I football team, it was announced in January of 2021. Cooper joins Shark Nation directly from perennial national championship contender, the University of Alabama.
One of the most experienced coaches in the game, Cooper comes to LIU with 10 years of experience as a head coach in Division I football, and decades of work as a defensive coordinator and assistant coach at both the NCAA Division I level and in the NFL.
“I’m excited to be named head football coach at Long Island University,” Cooper said. “I want to thank President Kimberly Cline and director of athletics Dr. William E. Martinov Jr. for the opportunity to build on the strong college football tradition at LIU. From the high academic standards in the classroom to success on the field of play, LIU has proven to be a national teaching and research institution, and I take great pride in joining the LIU community. My role as head coach will focus on developing a commitment to excellence in all areas of the game of football, and to build on the highly regarded LIU student-athlete experience, by preparing young men for success beyond the game.”
In addition to working alongside Nick Saban at Alabama, Cooper has served as head football coach at Eastern Michigan University, University of Louisville, Alabama A&M and Florida International. Other notable experience includes coaching at Texas A&M, LSU, University of Arkansas, University of Notre Dame, South Carolina, Mississippi State and the University of South Florida. Cooper also served as the defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for one season.
At Texas A&M, Cooper developed an inexperienced secondary. One of the leaders in the lineup was Armani Watts, who finished the season with 87 tackles, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one touchdown, en route to being named to Associated Press (AP) All-America third team and the All-SEC first team (Coaches & AP)
Cooper also served as the LSU secondary coach from 2009-11. He mentored one of the top secondaries in the country, highlighted by national award winners Morris Claiborne, Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu. In both 2010 and 2011, Cooper and the Tigers defense featured the Thorpe Award winner (nation's top defensive back) in Patrick Peterson in 2010 and Claiborne in 2011, as well as the Bednarik Award winner (nation's top defender) in Peterson and Mathieu in 2011. LSU was also home to the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in Peterson (2010), Mathieu (2011 by AP) and Claiborne (2011 by Coaches).
Cooper coached at South Carolina, with a defense that ranked No. 1 in the SEC and No. 2 in the nation in pass defense, allowing just 160 yards per game. With the Gamecocks, Cooper helped lead the team to appearances in the 2005 Independence Bowl, 2006 Liberty Bowl and 2009 Outback Bowl.
At Alabama A&M, Cooper guided the Bulldogs to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Game. His squad led the nation in rushing defense, and ranked eighth nationally in scoring defense. He discovered defensive end Robert Mathis and coached him in his first three collegiate seasons. Mathis went on to a 14-year NFL career with the Colts, making six Pro Bowls and earning AFC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2013.
Cooper’s 1995 Louisville team led the nation in takeaways and finished ninth nationally in scoring defense. The following season, the Cardinal defense finished fourth in total and rushing defense.
“We welcome Ron to Shark Nation, and look forward to supporting his development of teams that will challenge national contenders,” Dr. Martinov said.
Cooper has coached alongside some of the most successful and highly regarded coaches in college football including current and future hall of famers Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Lou Holtz, and Barry Alvarez.