I've been saying for years how john cooper literally put tosu football back on the national map. today, rob oller from the dispatch did a column on coop, detailing just that, on the week of the rivalry where many buckeye fans/others use his record as a punch line. it's a good read. I still think a lot folks don't even know he's a hof cfb coach.
Former Ohio State football coach John Cooper deserves better than cruel Michigan jokes
Portrait of Rob Oller Rob Oller
Columbus Dispatch
Sitting down with John Cooper over breakfast, what immediately strikes you is how young he looks. The former Ohio State football coach is 87, but does not look a day over 72. And that is saying something, considering the man was a punching bag for most of his 13 seasons with the Buckeyes.
In Columbus, and really throughout Ohio, you cannot mention Cooper’s name without experiencing the eye roll that comes with it. Those who lived through the Coop years (1988-2000) know all too well what happened almost every late November. His 2-10-1 record against Michigan sits on the tongue like hot sauce, prompting a wince and shake of the head.
It did not help Cooper’s standing among OSU fans that the Buckeyes were 3-8 in bowl games under him, including 2-6 after losses to the Wolverines. Never mind that his 111 wins in Columbus rank second to Woody Hayes’ 205. The man’s scarlet letter actually is a maize and blue “M” representing his greatest sin.
To his credit, Cooper owns his failures, with a “yeah, but“ added to protect his pride.
“My record was awful against Michigan,” he said. “But we also never lost to a bad Michigan team.”
Mostly true. The 1993 Wolverines that shut out OSU 28-0 were unranked, but the other nine losses were to teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, including three in the top five.
Regardless, Cooper is not nearly as obsessed with his record against Michigan as Buckeye Nation is with holding it against him. Cooper-bashing once was a popular pastime in Ohio, more common if less pervasive than the criticism Ryan Day receives for his 1-3 mark against the Wolverines. Had social media existed in the 1990s, Cooper likely would not have lasted 13 seasons.
But survive he did, and it’s probably a good thing, because beyond helping modernize Ohio State football – we’ll get to that – Cooper never let the program hit the skids like it has for nearly every other major football program at some point over the past 50 years. Michigan losses and bowl season aside, the Buckeyes won a lot and were relevant most years under Cooper, whose biggest wins came against Arizona State in the 1997 Rose Bowl and over Notre Dame in 1995. Certainly, things got off to a rough start; Ohio State finished unranked in 1988, ’90 and ’91. And Coop’s tenure ended with a thud, as the 1999 and 2000 teams also finished unranked. But OSU finished in the top 25 in eight of his 13 seasons, including three times in the top 10 and twice as national rankings runners-up.
Former Ohio State coach John Cooper takes in the Buckeyes' game against Indiana football at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 23, 2024.
The main reason the Buckeyes have avoided lengthy dips – they have not experienced back-to-back losing seasons since 1923-24 – is because of strong coaching. From John Wilce through Francis Schmidt, Paul Brown and Woody Hayes, even including “9-3” Earle Bruce and “Can’t beat Michigan” Cooper, Ohio State has made solid and often spectacular hires. Jump ahead to Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer and Day and there has been a seamless transfer of power that has kept the Buckeyes in power nationally.
If athletic director Jim Jones had fired Cooper after the 1992 season, like many fans wanted, there is no guarantee Jones would have hit a home run with his next hire. Maybe he does, or maybe he strikes out. And a swing and a miss might have set the program back a decade. Instead, Cooper finished 10-1 in 1993 and OSU went 52-16 (.765) over the next five seasons. That’s called getting things back on track. Coop eventually was dismissed after the Buckeyes dipped to 14-10 in 1999-2000, but by then Jim Tressel had accomplished enough at Youngstown State for OSU athletic director Andy Geiger to hire him in 2001.
If it sounds like I’m bending over backward in support of Cooper, well, it’s true. To reverse a line from Shakespeare’s "Julius Caesar," paraphrased, “I have not come to bury John Cooper, but to praise him.” The man deserves it.
John Cooper grew up cheering for Tennessee
Few teenagers in rural Powell, Tennessee, went to college in the 1950s. After graduating from high school, the most promising career path was to remain in the Knoxville area working as a carpenter or bricklayer.
But Cooper had other plans. He loved football. And was good at it.
“I was one of six kids raised out in the country,” Cooper said between bites of omelet. “My dad was a carpenter. Nobody down in East Tennessee went to college. I lived about 10 miles outside Knoxville and would thumb a ride to (Tennessee) games every Saturday.”
Former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach John Cooper walks along the sideline prior to the NCAA football game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
Cooper made $20 a day selling Cokes in Neyland Stadium.
“I would watch the games and could tell you every one of those Tennessee players: Hank Lauricella, Herky Payne, Andy Kozar, Doug Atkins. They won the national championship in 1951.”
Cooper lives in Columbus and still attends most Ohio State home games, but like many of us has a soft spot for his favorite boyhood teams.
“Something most people don’t know,” he said, eyes twinkling. “The only team in college football history that went undefeated and never gave up a point, never had a point scored on them, was 1939 Tennessee.”
That’s not exactly right. The Vols finished the 1939 regular season 10-0 with 10 shutouts, and their string of 17 straight regular-season shutouts dating from 1938 into 1940 remains an NCAA record, but they lost the 1940 Rose Bowl 14-0 to USC. But hey, at age 87 you’re allowed to recall sports history any way you want.
2016: Current coach Urban Meyer, left; Jim Tressel; John Cooper; Earle Bruce; and Luke Fickell on April 15 at Ohio State University.
Cooper adored the Volunteers and hoped to play for them out of high school, where he was an excellent defensive back. But the UT enrollment line was too long, so he joined the Army instead. That’s called being 18 years old.
“My dad said, ‘I’ll get you through high school, then you’re on your own,’ ” Cooper said. “Two of my high school teammates got scholarships to Tennessee and said I ought to go there and play football. I didn’t have any money but still was going to walk on. I got in the line to register and the damn line was out the door. I dropped out of line and joined the Army with a couple of my buddies.”
Ohio State coach John Cooper spent military years in Germany
Upon volunteering, Cooper was sent to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, for six weeks of basic training, then went home at Christmas and got married to his high school sweetheart. He and Helen have been married 67 years and have two children, John and Cindy.
After finishing basic training, Cooper was assigned to Fort Benjamin Harrison near Indianapolis.
“My older brother said, ‘See if you can get a job typing, or a desk job; otherwise you’re going to be out firing an M-1 rifle,” Cooper recalled. “I could type, so I passed the typing test. I learned how to take shorthand, and if a war broke out and (military personnel) were going to be interviewed, I would take it down and type it up. Well, there was no war. All my buddies wanted to be stationed overseas and I wanted to be close to home, because I just got married. And they sent my ass to Germany.”
The United States was not at war in 1956 when Cooper got sent to Stuttgart, Germany, where for 15 months he spent his down time working out, with an eye on returning home ready to play college football.
“I put on a little weight and sent letters to colleges telling them I wanted to come play football,” he said.
Indiana, coached by Tennessee alum Bob Hicks, got back to him with a note that his information was passed along to assistant coach Lou McCullough.
The photo that ran in The Dispatch after Ohio State's 45-26 win over Notre Dame in 1995 was not that of Eddie George's 61-yard run. Instead, it was one that featured coach John Cooper being escorted by OSU police through the celebratory crowds.
McCullough wrote Cooper that a partial scholarship was available if the Army released him early, but Cooper set it aside without writing back.
“I was going to go to East Tennessee State or Wofford or some place closer to home,” he said, a theme that would continue throughout his coaching career.
For Coop, “getting back home” became part of his career decision-making process.
“I didn’t even answer the letter.”
In the meantime, McCullough left Indiana to become an assistant at Iowa State. Having seen Cooper play while scouting at a high school all-star game, McCullough knew the defensive back had talent. Older than most incoming recruits after his stint in the Army, Cooper also was more mature than most other freshmen.
McCullough contacted Cooper’s mother, asking why her son had not responded and relaying that Iowa State was prepared to offer a full scholarship. Hearing that, Coop finally wrote back saying he wanted to be a Cyclone.
John Cooper: I 'was tougher than those guys'
Summer workouts had already begun when Cooper arrived with Helen in Ames, Iowa. His memory of the scene remains clear.
“When I get there, the players are coming off the field dying,” he said. “Half of them collapsed. Back in those days they’d run the hell out of you. No water. Never took your headgear off. After that freshman season we only had 30 players left.”
Jun 5, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Jack Nicklaus talks to Ohio State football coach Ryan Day and former coach John Cooper during a practice day for the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Cooper was among those who stayed, becoming a captain three years later.
“They’re not going to run me off,” he said. “I didn’t have any money and was tougher than those guys.”
The “Dirty 30,” as they are known in ISU lore, ended seven straight losing seasons by going 7-3 in 1959.
Coaching had been part of Cooper’s plan since high school, when his coach told him he would be good at it.
“I graduated college and was going to be a high school coach,” Cooper said, chuckling at how naive he was. “I go and interview for this job in Knoxville and they’re like, ‘We can’t hire you. You don’t have any coaching experience. You can’t be our head coach.’ ”
Frustrated, Cooper told his college coach what had happened. The response was more relief than sympathy. It turns out Iowa State wanted their recent graduate to coach the Cyclones’ freshmen team.
“I said I would do it if they teach me how to coach, let me sit in on meetings,” Cooper said. The ISU staff agreed, and a career was born, one that would take him to the West Coast and back.
Cooper first left Iowa State for Oregon State, where he worked under future College Football Hall of Fame coach Tommy Prothro.
“The best coach I’ve ever been around, by far,” said Cooper, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
When Prothro left Oregon State for UCLA in 1965, Cooper went with him. The No. 5 Bruins won the 1966 Rose Bowl, defeating No. 1 Michigan State 14-12.
John Cooper recruited Heisman winners Gary Beban, Eddie George
Cooper eventually left UCLA, where he coached defensive backs and recruited future Heisman Trophy winner Gary Beban, and in 1967 became the defensive coordinator under Pepper Rodgers at Kansas. He then jumped to Kentucky in 1972 “to get closer to home.”
Kentucky turned out to be a mess.
*Note = photo also used 1/3/01, page 1A. OSU quarterback Joe Germaine and coach John Cooper with winning trophy after January 1, 1997 Rose Bowl game against Arizona State University.
“We were cheating so bad at Kentucky,” said Cooper, who was unhappy with how head coach Fran Curci ran the program.” We signed the two best high school players we had ever recruited, from New Jersey, before they even visited the campus at Kentucky. I was, ‘I’ve got to get the hell out of here.’ ”
It pained Cooper to move farther from his childhood roots, but he couldn’t turn down Tulsa in 1977 when it offered him his first head coaching job.
Tulsa was a turning point in Cooper’s career. It is one thing to succeed as an assistant coach, another to prove your value by running the program. After going 3-8 his first season with the Golden Hurricane, Cooper’s next seven teams had winning records. He left Tulsa in 1984 for Arizona State after compiling a mark of 57-31, but not before turning down Miami.
“I turned down the Miami, Florida, coaching job the night before Jimmy Johnson took it the next morning,” Cooper said, explaining that the school wanted him to sign a five-year contract that included a stipulation to buy his way out of the contract if he left early. Miami also told Cooper he must keep any coach from Howard Schnellenberger’s staff who wanted to stay, and had to run Schnellenberger’s offense.
“To be honest, I didn’t know the players were that good,” Cooper said of his decision to pass on relocating to Miami. “But the other side is I could not have coached that team. They got off the bus to play (the 1986 Fiesta Bowl against Penn State) wearing Army fatigues.”
Cooper was content to remain at Tulsa, where he doubled as athletic director. His son also was on the team. But the Golden Hurricane played in the Missouri Valley Conference, so when Pac-10 Arizona State came calling, it was off to Tempe.
“I’ve probably taken a team into more stadiums than any coach that’s ever coached,” he said, estimating the number at close to 90.
Michigan was no problem ... for Arizona State
Funny how things work. Cooper gets knocked by OSU fans for losing to Michigan, but at ASU he was a huge hit for beating the No. 4 Wolverines 22-15 in the 1987 Rose Bowl. About three weeks earlier he had been a finalist for the Texas job, but the Longhorns wanted him to join them immediately and skip the Rose Bowl.
“I wasn’t going to do that,” he said.
Cooper went 25-9-2 at ASU with a Rose Bowl win, catching the attention of Ohio State, which had just fired Earle Bruce.
Here is where things get interesting, and honestly a bit shocking. Cooper knew little about Ohio State beyond the Buckeyes being a name-brand program with a long history of success. He accepted the OSU job without having seen the facilities or knowing the ins-and-outs of how the athletic department did business. He assumed everything would be first class. He assumed wrong.
Cooper’s biggest surprise was how poorly OSU assistants were paid.
“Our coaching staff was the eighth-lowest paid staff in the Big Ten Conference,” he said, shaking his head. “If I had come here and looked everything over and saw the facilities and learned more about how you can pay your coaches, I wouldn’t have come.”
The first few years, Cooper said he lost assistant coaches to lateral moves where the pay was better.
After winning the 1997 Rose Bowl OSU head football coach John Cooper is hugged by his wife, Helen. Photo by Chris Russell
He also could not believe the sad state of an archaic recruiting program that had coaches hand Cooper napkins with names of high school players. The new head coach thought, “We’ve got to do better than this.”
Credit John Cooper for modernizing Ohio State football program
If Cooper’s lasting legacy at Ohio State turns out to be his record against Michigan, at least credit him for modernizing the program by pushing to increase pay for assistants and expanding recruiting on a national level. It’s not that OSU didn’t recruit outside Ohio under Woody Hayes and Earle Bruce, but Cooper widened the net considerably. He also upgraded the strength and conditioning program, campaigned for his players to win awards – the Buckeyes achieved nearly every individual honor on his watch – opened up the offense by actually featuring the skills of NFL-quality wide receivers and fought hard to get into school players whose grades limited their opportunities on and off the field.
“To this day, the whole secret to coaching is getting kids into school,” he said before adding another of his favorite expressions: “Recruit players who can play better than you can coach.”
Cooper’s effort to get players with borderline grades into OSU did not always work out. In his final season with the Buckeyes, he received a call from former Buckeyes wide receiver Cris Carter, who was playing for the Minnesota Vikings, about a wide receiver from Minneapolis who was a can’t-miss prospect.
“Cris calls up one day and gets me and (recruiting coordinator Bill Conley) on the phone and says, ‘Coach, there’s a great high school player up here that wants to come to Ohio State.’ Well, OK, I tell him send us some film on this kid. ‘Coach, you don’t need no film on this kid.’ ”
The kid? Larry Fitzgerald.
Film may not have been necessary, but high school transcripts were, and Fitzgerald’s grades were lower than OSU’s entrance standards. A similar situation had happened with Eddie George in 1991, when George joined the Buckeyes out of prep school. But Geiger balked at allowing Cooper to pursue that path with Fitzgerald, who ended up signing with Pittsburgh.
Cooper's critics argue he was too hand’s-off at Ohio State, that he focused on being a CEO instead of connecting with players.
Former Buckeyes push back against criticism of John Cooper
At least a few former players dispute that charge.
Former OSU defensive back Ty Howard, now a successful sales rep in Columbus, said he saw two different sides of Cooper and benefited from both.
“The first time we played against Peyton Manning (the 1996 Citrus Bowl), that week in practice coach Cooper pulled me aside and said this was my chance to play man coverage on national television and raise my draft stock,” Howard said. “He told me, ‘Ty, I believe in you or I wouldn't be telling you this.’ It was the first time he came to me individually, and it meant a lot. I went out and played my best game to date, and got drafted in the third round.”
On the flip side…
“We were playing against Illinois and I got a personal foul,” Howard said. “A guy had spit in my face and I retaliated. Coach Cooper told me, ‘Ty, you’re not worth 15 yards. Don’t ever do that again. This is football. The better you are, the worse it’s going to get. When guys stop provoking you is when you need to worry. That’s when they think you’re not good enough to bother with.’ Both ways inspired me.”
From left: Ryan Miller, Tom Hoying, Mike Vrabel, John Cooper, Luke Fickell, Kirk Herbstreit, and Bob Hoying gather in 2008 to celebrate Cooper's 70th birthday.
Ryan Miller played linebacker under Cooper from 1992-96. After working in radio and television, Miller co-founded a Columbus-based marketing company and is an established leader in business circles.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without Coach,” Miller said. “He’s treated me like his family from the moment I was recruited and has stayed in touch with me ever since. Shoot, when I told him we were expecting our first child 15 years ago, coach sent me a book of baby names with a note that said, ‘Pick a good one.’ Classic Coop.”
Cooper’s coaching peers also heap praise on him.
Jim Colletto played defensive end on the 1965 UCLA team and later coached under Cooper at Arizona State (1985-87) and Ohio State (1988-90).
“The greatest guy to work for, ever,” Colletto said. “He was always easygoing, never made it unbearable or made you feel uncomfortable. It made your job every day a whole lot easier.”
'That Michigan thing' won't go away
Colletto bristles over what he calls “That Michigan thing.”
“It’s tough,” he said. “The first year in 1988 we were struggling as a team … (Michigan) is up 20-0 at halftime and we scored 31 straight points the second half.”
The Buckeyes went ahead 31-27 in the fourth quarter before UM scored on a 41-yard touchdown catch by Jon Kolesar with 1:37 remaining to win 34-31. It was an ominous sign of future agony inflicted on Cooper and OSU by the Wolverines.
“Two years later (1990), we went for it on fourth down and I made a lousy call and they kicked a field goal to win,” Colletto said, remembering the 16-13 UM win in Columbus. “You play teams like that who are so evenly matched, you never know what’s going to happen. John gets a raw deal. Those are 50-50 games, and sometimes there’s just a string of bad luck.”
Colletto related a favorite Cooper story about the 1989 game at Minnesota, when Ohio State trailed 31-0 before storming back to win 41-37, tying what at the time was the largest comeback win in college history.
“We scored with two minutes left in the half to make it 31-8. Most of the time at halftime, after a first half like that, the coach is ripping everybody and we’re all contemplating what moving company we’re going to hire,” Colletto said. “But John was calm and very matter-of-fact. And that’s the way he was with us all the time. You never felt like you were under anybody’s thumb. He let you do your job.”
Cooper is most proud of always running a clean program at Ohio State.
“The NCAA was never on my campus,” he said. “I told my coaches, ‘You knowingly violate rules that get us in trouble and your ass is fired.’ ”
Ironically, Cooper got fired after the 2000 season for violating a “rule” the NCAA cares nothing about. But Ohio State fans do. He lost to Michigan too often. The man does not deny it. But let’s not deny him his due. Coop ushered OSU into the modern era of nationwide recruiting and program building. That’s worth a pat on the back, not a metaphorical punch to the face for what happened against the Wolverines.
roller@dispatch.com
@rollercd
Jan 13, 2020 17:38:49 GMT -5
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