Jim Bob Cooter begins his first season with the New York Jets after joining Adam Gase’s staff as the team’s running backs coach on February 8, 2019. Cooter joins the Jets after directing the Lions offense for the past three-and-a-half seasons.
After initially joining the Lions as a quarterbacks coach (2014), Cooter was promoted to offensive coordinator in Week Eight of the 2015 season. During his time in Detroit, quarterback Matthew Stafford ranked in the top 10 in completion percentage (64.9%), passing yards (21,069), touchdowns (128) and passing plays of 25+ yards (151). Prior to his promotion to offensive coordinator, the Lions offense under Stafford produced the third-most turnovers in the league. Following his appointment as offensive coordinator, the offense produced the fifth-fewest.
Additionally, running backs in Cooter’s offense ranked in the top four league-wide in both receptions and receiving yards in his time as offensive coordinator, while Theo Riddick’s 211 receptions under him were the second most in the league in that span. Three different backs produced 25-catch seasons under him, including four by Riddick from 2015-18.
Prior to his time in Detroit, Cooter first worked with Gase as the Broncos offensive assistant (2013). That season, the Denver offense ranked first in the NFL in multiple categories, including total yards per game (465.3), total touchdowns (76) and points per game (37.9), and set an NFL single-season record with 606 points scored as the team earned its third-straight AFC West title.
In his lone season in Kansas City, Cooter was part of a Chiefs offensive staff that oversaw the fifth-ranked rushing offense in the league, producing 149.7 yards per game, as running back Jamaal Charles finished with 1,509 yards (fourth most in the league), earning Pro Bowl recognition.
Cooter entered the NFL coaching ranks with Indianapolis in 2009, serving the Colts staff in a variety of roles as the team won back-to-back AFC South `titles in 2009 and 2010, earning a Super Bowl XLIV appearance.
A former quarterback at the University of Tennessee, Cooter got his coaching start at his alma mater as a graduate assistant from 2007-08. As a player, he appeared in six games for the Volunteers. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Tennessee in 2006 and went on to receive a master’s degree in sports psychology in 2008.
