Texas A&M tabs Ron Cooper as defensive backs coach

Per sources, Kevin Sumlin has added Ron Cooper to the Texas A&M coaching staff as his defensive backs coach.

FootballScoop reported yesterday that Cooper was a strong candidate to replace Terry Joseph in Aggieland and he was mentioned here as one of the five candidates who interviewed for the job last week, but today's TexAgs report is stating that the longtime assistant has indeed been officially hired by Sumlin and A&M and will take the reins of John Chavis' defensive backfield.

The former Louisville head coach (1995-1997) also had head coaching stops at Eastern Michigan and Alabama A&M and most recently was the interim head coach at Florida International this past season.

Cooper brings a wealth of experience to the Aggie staff. With a background that includes several stops as a defensive backs coach, including LSU - where he worked under Chief and coached the likes of Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu and Morris Claiborne - Notre Dame, South Carolina and South Florida, the new A&M assistant has also served as a defensive coordinator at Mississippi State and UNLV.

He spent one season as an NFL defensive backs coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012, rounding out one hell of a resume for a college position coach.

Until the NCAA grants teams the opportunity to sign a 10th assistant (which many expect will happen in April), Cooper completes Sumlin's staff. He'll be on campus and begin working with the Aggie team to start next week.

Amidst working around the clock with the entire A&M staff to close out a borderline top-10 2017 recruiting class, Sumlin had been busy cross-checking several guys for the job, interviewing as many as five candidates before landing on Cooper as the ideal fit to round out John Chavis' defensive staff.