Evan Cooper

Evan Cooper spent the 2023 season as Nebraska’s secondary coach and defensive pass game coordinator.

NEBRASKA
In 2023, Cooper's secondary played a key role in the Huskers having their best statistical defense since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2011. Nebraska's pass defense limited opponents to 6.1 yards per attempt, a total that ranked ninth nationally. The Huskers also ranked 15th nationally in passing efficiency defense, their highest finish in that category since 2014. The secondary held two opponents under 100 yards passing and seven opponents to fewer than 200 yards through the air. The secondary helped Nebraska rank 14th nationally in total defense and 17th in scoring defense, their best finishes since 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Individually, four members of the Husker secondary earned All-Big Ten honors. Cornerbacks Quinton Newsome and Tommi Hill each earned All-Big Ten recognition, as did rover Isaac Gifford and safety Omar Brown. Among that quartet, only Newsome had been an All-Big Ten selection prior to Cooper's arrival. Hill led the Big Ten with 13 passes defended, ranking third in the conference with nine pass breakups and fifth with four interceptions. As a group, the secondary accounted for seven interceptions and 30 pass breakups. Gifford and Brown were also among Nebraska's leading tackler. Gifford led NU with 86 tackles, becoming the first Husker defensive back to record 85 tackles in a season since 2014. Brown tied for second on the team with 51 tackles. The tackling ability of Cooper's secondary helped the Huskers rank eighth nationally in rushing defense.

BEFORE NEBRASKA
CAROLINA PANTHERS: Cooper spent three seasons as the cornerbacks coach and the director of player evaluation for the Carolina Panthers from 2020 to 2022. In 2021, Carolina allowed only 192.1 passing yards per game, ranking fourth in the NFL in that category, while ranking fifth in fewest completions (337) and seventh in passing yards per attempt (6.3). The pass defense was a major factor in Carolina ranking second in the NFL in total defense (305.9 yards per game) in 2021.

BAYLOR: Cooper spent three years with Rhule at Baylor, helping transform the program. The Bears finished with a 1-11 record in Cooper’s first season in 2017 but two years later in 2019, Baylor went 11-3 with trips to the Big 12 Championship Game and the Sugar Bowl.

Cooper was Baylor’s cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator in 2019, when Baylor matched the school record for victories. That season, Cooper’s cornerbacks helped the Bears rank fifth nationally in interceptions (17) and 18th in pass efficiency defense. As a team, Baylor also ranked 19th nationally in scoring defense. 
In 2018, Cooper was an on-field assistant working with the Bears’ secondary and the defensive line. In his first season on staff in 2017, Cooper served as Baylor’s director of player personnel.

TEMPLE: Cooper had two stints at Temple, his alma mater. In his second stint, Cooper spent two seasons on Rhule’s staff at Temple in 2015 and 2016, serving as the director of player personnel both seasons. The Owls won 10 games in both seasons, two of the three 10-win seasons in program history.

Temple also played in back-to-back bowl games for the first time and in 2016, the Owls won the program’s first conference title in nearly 40 years. Individually, linebacker Tyler Matakevich won the 2015 Chuck Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy while becoming Temple’s first consensus All-American in nearly 30 years.

Cooper’s first stint at Temple marked his first coaching job in the collegiate ranks. He served as the Owls’ director of external operations in 2014 after spending the 2013 season as a graduate assistant.

MIAMI: In between his time at Temple, Cooper had a brief six-month stint as Miami’s assistant director of player personnel in 2015.

WESTMINSTER (FLA.) ACADEMY: Cooper’s first coaching job came as a defensive backs coach for Westminster Academy in Florida. He spent two seasons at Westminster in 2011 and 2012 and also served as a student advisor.

PLAYING CAREER (TEMPLE)
Cooper was a four-year letterwinner at Temple from 2005 to 2008. He posted 113 tackles in his career as a defensive back with 4.0 TFLs, five passes defended and four forced fumbles.

PERSONAL
Cooper earned his degree in sport and recreation management from Temple in 2009. He is married to the former Andisha Hoilett. The couple has a son, Evan III, and a daughter, Madison.

COACHING CAREER
2023: Nebraska (Secondary/Defensive Pass Game Coordinator)
2020-22: Carolina Panthers (Cornerbacks/Director of Player Evaluation)
2019: Baylor (Cornerbacks/Recruiting Coordinator)
2018: Baylor (Secondary/Defensive Line)
2017: Baylor (Director of Player Personnel)
2015-16: Temple (Director of Player Personnel)
2015: Miami (Assistant Director of Player Personnel)
2014: Temple (Director of External Operations)
2013: Temple (Graduate Assistant)
2011-12: Westminster [Fla.] Academy (Defensive Backs)