Steve Cooper

Steve Cooper is in his first season as a senior offensive analyst for Nebraska in 2022. Overall, Cooper is in his fifth season at Nebraska after serving as an offensive quality control coach from 2018 to 2021.

In his first season working with Scott Frost's offensive system in 2018, Cooper helped the Huskers rank 25th nationally in total offense and Nebraska had both a 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver for the first time in program history. In 2019, Nebraska produced its most total yards and most points ever in a Big Ten Conference game, while the 2020 Husker offense ranked second in the Big Ten in rushing offense. In 2021, Nebraska ranked 20th nationally in total offense, its highest ranking in that category since 2008.

Cooper came to Lincoln from Portland State, his alma mater. He began his coaching tenure at Portland State as a graduate assistant, and he also served as a full-time coach with the Vikings, serving as an assistant working with the tight ends and wide receivers before being promoted to offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. 

In his first season as offensive coordinator, Portland State improved its scoring average by 10 points per game and rushed for more than 3,000 yards. In 2016, PSU averaged 454.2 yards and 33.2 points per game. In his final season with the Vikings in 2017, Cooper helped a pair of freshmen quarterbacks power an offense that averaged 429.0 yards per game.

Cooper earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy from Portland State. He was a wide receiver for the Vikings during his playing career.