Gahanna graduate Cooley coaching for Rams
Long coaching journey is ‘proud moment’ for city
He doesn’t always beat his boss into work, but Jonathan Cooley definitely considers himself an early riser.
Cooley, a 2007 Gahanna graduate, is in his second season as an assistant defensive backs coach under Sean Mcvay with the Los Angeles Rams.
The extra hours he’s worked the past few weeks, needless to say, have been worth it considering he’ll be on the sideline when the Rams play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in the Super Bowl.
“You don’t really feel like you’re working when you’re doing something you’re passionate about,” Cooley said. “The hours are long but the season’s the season. Some days I get in before 5 (a.m.) and (Mcvay) is already there.
“It’s been great. We had an opportunity to host the NFC championship and when we beat Tampa Bay, we knew we wouldn’t have to get on a plane anymore. Now having the Super Bowl here (in our home stadium) has really been incredible. It’s really a dream come true.”
Cooley was a wide receiver and defensive back for Gahanna under coach Mike Lanza, who led the program from 1995-2007. The Lions reached Division I regional semifinals during Cooley’s final two seasons, and he went on to play for John Carroll.
Cooley got his coaching career started in 2011 at Millikin, a Division III school in Decatur, Illinois. He then coached safeties at Bluffton in 2012 and was the secondary coach at his college alma mater in 2013 and ’14, helping John Carroll’s defense finish in the top five nationally in Division III in both seasons.
“Having Jonathan Cooley coach in the Super Bowl is a proud moment for the Gahanna community and our football program,” Gahanna coach Bruce Ward said. “He’s worked tirelessly at the profession and has always found time when in town to stop by a practice or workout and give back to the program. We’re proud of him and wish him the best.
“I didn’t coach him, but you would have thought I did because he comes in and gets on the board with us, jumps in and helps us coach. He’s done that since I’ve been here through all of his college coaching stops.”
Cooley also worked on the staffs at
Kentucky (2015-16), Tennessee at Chattanooga (2017), Kent State (2018) and Akron (2019).
He was a part of the Bill Walsh Internship in 2019 with the Rams and had a connection with former Rams assistant and current Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley from his stops at John Carroll and Chattanooga. That helped him land a job with the Rams beginning with the 2020 season.
While Ejiro Evero coaches the Rams’ safeties, Cooley works with the team’s cornerbacks.
“I wouldn’t say I wanted to coach in the NFL when I was (playing) in college, but it was really more so that I started the coaching journey and found I had a passion for it,” Cooley said. “When you get into coaching, the NFL is the highest you can go. Being as competitive as I am, I want to coach with the biggest players on the biggest stage. Basically you’ve got to lean on your expertise and your relationships. (The players) won’t just take everything you say. You have to really have some concrete answers because some of these guys have been playing in the league longer than I’ve been coaching.
“My plan before the season was to get my parents here because they hadn’t been to visit L.A. That’s one of the things I’m most proud of is getting them out here. It’s really cool to end up where you set yourself out, to have a realization of your goals.”