Getting To Know Jon Cooper
December 28, 2023 | Football
New Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby has collectively hired one of the top coaching staffs in all of college football.
In an effort to get to know Lebby's assistant coaches a little better, they each sat down with HailState.com staff writers Joel Coleman and Logan Lowery for a series of interviews that will be released over the coming days.
The interview series continues with tight ends coach Jon Cooper.
Q: You're reuniting with coach Lebby here in Starkville and have been around him as much as anybody, tell everybody who Jeff Lebby is as a football coach.
Cooper: "Jeff Lebby as a football coach is kind of hard to explain because he is so unique. He's a connector. He's a people person more than anything and that's who he is as a coach. He's going to love these guys, these young men, this staff and everybody around before he expects anything out of them. He's really going to pour into these young men because that's how he was raised. He was raised by a coach and saw it done the right way in so many different places. He's learned so many different things from so many mentors and people he's been around his whole life that there's no doubt that he's going to be successful as a head coach."
Q: You've been in and around this league a number of times and coached against Mississippi State. Mississippi State has a reputation as a hard-nosed, blue-collar type of place, so why did that make sense for you in your coaching career?
Cooper: "You said it there. It's blue-collar, tough. When you come into Starkville, you know you're in for a fight. It doesn't matter what anybody's record is, whether it's 11-0 and somebody else is 11-0 or 0-10 versus 0-10. It's going to be a fight. The kids that are here and have come through here and continue to come back have proven that. This place and state has given them so much and they're so proud to represent Mississippi and represent State that it shows on the football field. It shows with their effort and shows with the love they have for each other."
Q: What do you demand of your room, the guys that will be playing tight end for you? What's kind of your style?
Cooper: "I demand that they give their best, that's it. We're going to be mission focused and we're going to accomplish missions one by one. The standard is going to be set by them. All I ask from them is that they give their best in whatever they're doing. And that's going to change. You're going to have sixth-year seniors that their best is going to look a lot different from an 18-year-old freshman. But I'm going to be able to push them and understand what their best is and when they're not giving it because sometimes as a young man, you don't know when you're not giving it your best. It's going to be my job to help them learn that their best is better than what they've put out there before."
Q: The tight end position has only been back for a year in this program, so you're kind of starting off with a blank slate with a lot of these guys. Is it fun as a coach to be able to mold these guys like clay and what are you looking forward to the most about working with these guys for the first time this spring?
Cooper: "That's the great thing about this sport. It doesn't matter if we've been here for 20 years or if this was Year 1, we're always going to bring in new young men. Young men are going to change and their best is going to change. We're going to adapt to them. Being able to work with them from square one when we start getting into our meetings in January and February leading into spring ball, we're all on the same page and are all learning together. They're going to be able to help each other as I'm helping them learn the system and what I expect out of them on a daily basis. It's really exciting that they're going to be able to grow as one.
"It's not guys that have been here for five years, know the system and we're teaching one guy. We might have an 18-year-old freshman that picks up something faster than a sixth-year senior and can help him grow as well. They're going to be leaning on each other as much as anything, which is going to make us tighter as a unit."
Q: You've seen coach Lebby's offense with your own two eyeballs. Can you explain what makes it so exciting?
Cooper: "You know, the most exciting part is that we're going to put these young men in positions to be successful. If you watch how he's called offense in the offenses he's been in for the last 18 years, in all reality it's going to look different each year that you watch the film. There's going to be similarities, right? But more than anything, we're going to put these young men in positions to be successful at every position. We're not going to ask them to do things that they're not able to do. When you show them that and they have success, that's when they can trust you.
"They understand that correction is not criticism. We're trying to help you be your best. They know what they're good at and when we let them do what they're good at and help them get better at the things that they're not good at, that's when they're trusting. When they trust you that you're going to help them reach these goals that they're had since they were eight years old putting pads on for the first time, that's when you get their best."
Q: You've played this game at the highest level but was coaching always part of the plan? Did you know whenever you hung up the cleats you were going to get into coaching?
Cooper: "You know, it was. My dad was a high school coach and I've had a lot of great coaches pour into me. That's always been something I've wanted to do. I've had a passion for the game. I've played and seen it done at the highest level. I played center which is obviously a very studious part of the game. I've fallen in love not just the physical aspect of it but also the mental aspect of offensive football more than anything.
"It's kind of funny because my dad being a coach, he's my hero and I love him to death. That's always why I wanted to coach. But when I became a father and my son was around these young men chasing their dream and seeing them work so hard. They're doing things that they were told they weren't going to make it because only one percent do but continued to chase it. Him being able see them working as hard as they can to go achieve those dreams has really become my new reason. It's been an incredible journey and really pushes me to be my best every day."
Q: You mentioned your father being a coach, is there a lesson or two that sticks out in your head that has been passed along?
Cooper: "Well, I probably can't use the words that he said but it's something along the lines of effort is the great equalizer. You don't have to be the strongest guy to be the most physical. Your effort will determine your success. It shows how much you care. We would always talk about how you never know when that extra effort is going to cause the big play or change the game. You all know that it's a game of inches and you giving one extra effort for 40 plays and not the 41st might be the inch. You never know when it's going to spring a big play or however it works out. That's always, always, always going to be the No. 1 factor in having success."