Rice adds former LSU safeties coach Kerry Cooks as defensive assistant, per report

Former LSU safeties coach Kerry Cooks has found his next destination and will be joining Rice‘s football staff as a defensive assistant working with the secondary according to Matt Zenitz. Spending the last two seasons with the Tigers before being fired along with defensive coordinator Matt House and assistants Robert Steeples and Jimmy Lindsey in January.

“This morning, I met with Matt House, Kerry Cooks, Robert Steeples, and Jimmy Lindsey to inform them that they would not return to our coaching staff in 2024,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said in a statement following the 2023 season. “I want to thank each of these coaches for their work on behalf of our football program and our institution during their time here.”

“Decisions like these are always difficult, and we do not make them lightly, but they are made with the best interests of our program and our student-athletes in mind. Moving forward, we will continue working to build a championship caliber coaching staff in support of our mission to Graduate Champions.”

LSU ended the season with the nation’s best offense in scoring and yards per game, but their defense held the team back from potential championship heights after appearing in the SEC title game in Kelly’s first season at the helm. Finishing last season 10-3 with opponents scoring over 40 points in each of the team’s three losses.

But despite LSU’s recent defensive shortcomings, Cooks is still a veteran collegiate coach with extensive experience at the college level at some of the nation’s top programs. Specializing in coaching defensive backs and making stops at places like Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Wisconsin in his career.

Cooks was also a former player, serving as a team captain at Iowa before being selected with the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

Cooks now teams with Owls head coach Mike Bloomgren ahead of his sixth season with the program following their first year in the American Athletic Conference. Working outside of the Power Five (now Four) level for the first time since his first assistant coaching job as the defensive backs coach and special teams assistant at Western Illinois. Joining Rice with two decades of football experience that includes coaching safeties and cornerbacks along with serving as a co-defensive coordinator in his career.