Football
Cooper Elected to National Football Foundation Hall of Fame
By John Porentas
Former Ohio State Head Football Coach John Cooper was elected to the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame this week putting him into very elite company.
College football has now been played for 140 years. Over that time 4.8 million players have played the game. Only 829 players and 178 coaches have made it to the Hall of Fame.
Cooper's overall coaching record includes 192 wins, 84 losses and six ties as a head coach. He headed up programs at Tulsa (1977-84), Arizona State (1985-87) before coming to Ohio State from 1988 through 2000.
In his 34 years of coaching Cooper won nine conference championships, participated in 14 bowl games, produced 20 first-team All-Americas and seven National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes. He is the first coach in history to lead both a Big Ten and Pac-10 team to victories in the Rose Bowl. He ranks second only to Wood Hayes in all-time wins at Ohio State.
Ohio State finished the regular season ranked in the top 25 in 12 of his 13 season as the head coach of the Buckeyes. Cooper brought standouts such as two-time Lombardi winner Orlando Pace and Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George to Columbus. During his playing days at Iowa State he was the MVP of the Cyclone football team.
A Tennessee native, Cooper sprang from humble beginnings to rise through the ranks in the coaching profession. He credits his high school football coach for directing toward the coaching profession.
"My dad was a carpenter and I was one of six kids, so the only way I could go to college was on a football scholarship. That's the reason I got into coaching, because of the influence of my high school football coach," said Cooper.
"I want to give him a lot of credit. He told me 'John, I think you'd be a great football coach some day. Until that time I didn't have a clue about what I was going to do," said Cooper.
"He planted that seed in my head to be a football coach."
Cooper also credits the support of his wife of 51 years, Helen, for his success. As he strode to the speaker's table yesterday to address local media in Columbus he carried a chair with him.
"I'm not going into the Hall of Fame by myself. I want my wife to come up here," Cooper said, planting the chair next to him for her.
"I found the prettiest girl in high school, the prettiest cheerleader, and proved I could do a good job recruiting and recruited her," quipped Cooper eliciting a laugh from those in attendance.
"She told me that if we got married I had to go to college. I played college football to get my way through school."
Cooper expressed no interest in returning to the coaching ranks, but admitted to missing some aspects of the profession.
"Every day," said Cooper when asked if he missed coaching.
"You can't do something you love all your life and all of a sudden shut it down and say you don't miss it. Sure I miss it.
"Do I want to get back in it? No. There are certain things about it I don't miss, but the relationships you have, the camaraderie you build with your fellow coaches and your players, the competitive spirit that you have, the locker room, game day, all that, sure you miss that."
Cooper fielded some powerful teams at Ohio State, particularly in the period from 1996 through 1998. He admitted missing those days as well.
"The best feeling can have is when you're on the field warming up before the game and you're watching that other team warm up and you're out there visiting with the other head coach and you look at those players and you know that if we don't screw this up we're going to kick your butt. That's a great feeling," he said.
Cooper won 111 games against 43 losses and four ties for a winning percentage of .715 while at Ohio State. His signature wins while at OSU included two wins over Lou Holtz-coached Notre Dame and a win in the 1999 Rose Bowl against Arizona State. While at Arizona State his team dominated Michigan in the Rose Bowl in 1987. Cooper had nothing but fond remarks for Ohio State football.
"It doesn't get any better than coaching at Ohio State," said Cooper.
"What more could you look for in coaching? You have great facilities, you can recruit good players, you have great academic support, you have the best fans in the country.
"I think this is true. I have probably taken a team into more stadiums around the country than any football coach ever. I've taken teams to over 90 stadiums around the country and there are a lot of good stadiums out there. There is none better, not a better game-day atmosphere or better stadium in college football that the 'Shoe," Cooper said.
Cooper remained in Columbus after being fired after the 2000 season and still takes an active interest in the Buckeye football program. .
"We love it here," Cooper said.
"People have been great to me here. I look back and the people who hired me here, Jim Jones and Bill Myles and Archie have been great to me. Coach Tressel and Gene Smith, I've got an office here and I can come and hang out, watch them practice, be connected to the program."
Cooper currently acts as a college football analyst for ESPN as well as a talent analyst for the Cincinnati Bengals, though Cooper was quick to make it clear that his relationship with the Bengals is strictly that of a talent analyst.
"I don't have anything to do with coaching the Bengals. I have nothing to do with that," said Cooper drawing a laugh from reporters.
This year's Hall of Fame class includes 13 players and two coaches, Cooper and Lou Holtz. One of Cooper's former players, Arizona State offensive guard Randall McDaniel, is also a member of the class. From the Big Ten, former Northwestern linebacker and current Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald also was elected this year.
Other members of the class of 2008:
Troy Aikman - QB, UCLA (1987-88)
Billy Cannon - RB, LSU (1957-59)
Jim Dombrowski - OT, Virginia (1982-85)
Wilber Marshall - LB, Florida, (1980-83)
Rueben Mayes - RB, Washington (1982-85)
Don McPherson - QB, Syracuse (1984-87)
Jay Novacek - TE, Wyoming (1982-84)
Dave Parks - SE, Texas Tech (1961-63)
Ron Simmons - NG, Florida State (1977-80)
Thurman Thomas - RB, Oklahoma State (1984-87)
Arnold Tucker - QB, Army (1944-46)The Hall of Fame is located in South Bend, Indiana. Induction for this class of Hall of Famers will take place December 9, 2008 in New York City.
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