Analysis: Adding Kerry Cooks Is A Brilliant Move By Brian Kelly
While observing Notre Dame’s only spring practice of 2020 the media in attendance saw a familiar face wandering around. It was that of former Irish cornerbacks coach Kerry Cooks (2010-14), who head coach Brian Kelly later confirmed was in the process of being hired to join the staff.
Cooks will join the staff as a defensive analyst. It’s an outstanding move for Kelly and the Notre Dame staff, who add a coach with high character, a proven track record and a strong recruiting background.
Making good use of the graduate assistant and analyst positions is essential to having a full staff that is capable of maximizing the roster. Adding Cooks to the defensive staff as an analyst is an outstanding move for Kelly.
Before diving into the specifics of why this was such a strong move, let’s first discuss briefly what an analyst can and can’t do. An analyst is going to be used differently at different programs. The only two things they cannot do is coach on the field during practice and to recruit off-campus.
Beyond that they can do anything one of the “full-time” assistant coaches can do. They can break down film with players, they can talk to recruits on campus and they can talk to recruits on the phone, through text or other formats like direct messages on Twitter.
Now, back to Cooks:
Proven Track Record
Cooks coached for a season at Minnesota and four years as the secondary coach at Wisconsin prior to his arrival at Notre Dame to be a part of Kelly’s first staff in South Bend.
Cooks coached cornerbacks at Notre Dame (2010-14) and played a huge role in developing players like Robert Blanton, KeiVarae Russell and Bennett Jackson into NFL players. Former Irish corner Cole Luke also had one of the best seasons for an Irish cornerback in the last 20 years during his sophomore season with Cooks as his position coach.
Notre Dame ranked 82nd in defensive pass efficiency and 99th in yards allowed per pass attempt in 2009, the year prior to Cooks’ arrival. The Irish ranked 58th, 39th, 25th and 16th in defensive pass efficiency in his first four seasons under defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, and ranked 28th, 24th, 16th and 13th in yards allowed per pass attempt.
Cooks was well-respected by the Irish players during his tenure, and in every instance in which I was around Cooks in an official or unofficial capacity he conducted himself in a first-class manner.
The veteran coach can provide mentorship to young corners coach Mike Mickens, who has a bright future as a coach.
More important, Cooks knows what it is like to be part of a top defense. Analysts do their most work in the film room, and that’s where Cooks can play a significant and vital role. He gives defensive coordinator Clark Lea an intelligent and experienced coach to work ahead during the season.
What this means is Cooks and the other analysts will be responsible for future scouting of upcoming opponents. While the assistants spend Monday through Friday preparing for the opponent they are about to play on Saturday, analysts will work on future games. When the staff comes together on Sunday after a game, the analysts will have detailed analysis of the next opponent ready for the other coaches.
This includes detailed reports on the structure of the upcoming opponent, their tendencies, and the strengths and weaknesses of their personnel.
For Lea, that means on Sundays after breaking down and grading the previous game’s film, he’ll have detailed reports and film analysis of the upcoming opponent immediately in hand. This allows the current staff to dive right into game planning and preparation. If you have an experienced coach who you trust as part of this process it is a tremendous asset for the defensive coordinator.
Recruiting Success
It took Cooks a couple of seasons to get rolling as a recruiter at Notre Dame, but once he did get on track he thrived. Cooks was the primary recruiter for Luke, Shaun Crawford and Nick Watkins. All three were four-star recruits, and both Luke and Crawford were ranked as Top 100 players by at least one recruiting service.
Notre Dame was more regionally focused during that period as well, which meant Cooks was the primary recruiter for other players like Durham Smythe, Corey Robinson, Davonte Neal and Torii Hunter Jr. among others.
He left Notre Dame following the 2014 season and was hired at Oklahoma, and that is where his recruiting efforts really took off. In four seasons at Oklahoma, Cooks was the primary recruiter for nine four-star defensive backs that were Top 250 composite recruits. Five of those signees were Top 100 recruits by at least one service.
Cooks landed Top 100 recruits Woodi Washington and Jeremiah Criddell in the 2019 class prior to his departure, and he landed Top 100 corner Brendan Radley-Hiles in 2018. Cooks was the lead recruiter for 247Sports five-star Robert Barnes in 2017, the same year he landed Top 100 corner Justin Broiles and Top 150 corner Tre Brown.
Potential For Staff Continuity
I doubt Kelly hired Cooks with the thought of him replacing another coach. The Mickens hire was excellent and safeties coach Terry Joseph is locked into his position. But that doesn’t mean having Cooks on staff still doesn’t provide potential staff continuity should one of those coaches depart for any reason. It would not shock me, for example, if Joseph was looking to become a defensive coordinator at some point in the very near future.
