Coaches / Head coach / John Cooper
Career
81
not coaching now
Rating—recent
Peak84best 5 yrs
Career81whole career
confidence
John Cooper
Head coach, 1977–2000
Headline rating: as head coach. Every role he has been rated in is below.
Chemistry
—
index in development
Seasons here—
Programs3
Stints3
Career path
Head-coaching stints since 1936; assistant roles since 2016
As head coach
Rating—Peak84Career81
1977–2000 · 24 seasonsRecord 192-84National titles 0Great seasons 5 (top ~7% of all teams that year)
- Rating 82: his whole career, recent seasons weighted most, measured as how far his teams stood above their era, crediting him with half of what each program already was when he arrived (about the share that, historically, follows a coach to his next job), fading as the program becomes his own.
- Peak 84: best five-season stretch, 1994–1998 at Ohio State (52-11, 5 top-10 seasons by team strength), taking over a good program.
- Career 81 (#49 since 1936): total accomplishment over 24 seasons (192-84), 0 national titles, 5 elite seasons; full credit for the program he inherited.
- Proven at 2 programs: Arizona State · Ohio State.
Rating = who he is: his whole head-coaching career (since 1936), weighted toward recent years — how far his teams stood above their contemporaries, how much he lifted programs, his great seasons and titles. Form = the last two seasons. Career = the all-time ranking number.
| Season | Team | Record | Season rank | vs contemporaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Ohio State | 8-4 | #15 | +1.06 SD |
| 1999 | Ohio State | 6-6 | #25 | +0.79 SD |
| 1998 | Ohio State | 11-1 | #1 | +2.11 SD |
| 1997 | Ohio State | 10-3 | #6 | +1.66 SD |
| 1996 | Ohio State | 11-1 | #3 | +2.01 SD |
| 1995 | Ohio State | 11-2 | #2 | +2.12 SD |
| 1994 | Ohio State | 9-4 | #9 | +1.30 SD |
| 1993 | Ohio State | 10-1-1 | #12 | +1.29 SD |
| 1992 | Ohio State | 8-3-1 | #12 | +1.17 SD |
| 1991 | Ohio State | 8-4 | #33 | +0.60 SD |
| 1990 | Ohio State | 7-4-1 | #22 | +0.87 SD |
| 1989 | Ohio State | 8-4 | #36 | +0.38 SD |
| 1988 | Ohio State | 4-6-1 | #56 | -0.05 SD |
| 1987 | Arizona State | 7-4-1 | #29 | +0.56 SD |
| 1986 | Arizona State | 10-1-1 | #6 | +1.65 SD |
| 1985 | Arizona State | 8-4 | #22 | +0.95 SD |
| 1984 | Tulsa | 6-5 | #66 | -0.13 SD |
| 1983 | Tulsa | 8-3 | #41 | +0.28 SD |
| 1982 | Tulsa | 10-1 | #46 | +0.17 SD |
| 1981 | Tulsa | 6-5 | #38 | +0.48 SD |
| 1980 | Tulsa | 8-3 | #58 | +0.01 SD |
| 1979 | Tulsa | 6-5 | #81 | -0.43 SD |
| 1978 | Tulsa | 9-2 | #59 | +0.05 SD |
| 1977 | Tulsa | 3-8 | #115 | -1.75 SD |
Season rank = his team among all major-college teams that year; vs contemporaries = how far above the average team (in standard deviations).