Jack Cooper expecting 'extreme amount of discipline' from Wisconsin safety room
Wisconsin Badgers safeties coach Jack Cooper plans to emphasize discipline, toughness, and communication in a revamped room.
Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin football program turned to a familiar face to fill its safeties coach vacancy this offseason, promoting Jack Cooper from his previous role as assistant defensive backs coach.
After serving on the Badgers’ staff since 2023, Cooper’s experience and connection to the program made him a natural fit to lead the safeties room moving forward after Alex Grinch took a coordinator job at UCF.
Cooper brings a wealth of coaching experience from all levels of college football, including stints as a defensive coordinator at Rhode Island and a defensive analyst at Nebraska. Reflecting on his coaching journey, which has spanned Division III, FCS, and now Power 4 football, Cooper noted both the challenges and similarities he's experienced at each level.
"The biggest difference is probably just the sense of urgency in recruiting," Cooper said. "Player acquisition and making sure that you're really thorough in your recruiting process at this level is so important.
“There's a lot of similarities, though. Guys are guys, football's football. They want to be treated the right way, they want to be coached the right way, they want to believe in you and trust you when you're coaching them. There are some similarities and some differences overall.”
Core principles: Discipline and toughness
Cooper made it clear that his expectations for Wisconsin’s safeties revolve around two key traits: discipline and toughness.
"An extreme amount of discipline," Cooper said, stressing the foundational trait he expects from the safeties in his room. “I want our guys to be really disciplined, great communicators, and echo the message of the defensive coordinator and the head coach and what we're trying to get done, then play with an extreme amount of toughness.
"There’s a certain style of Badger safeties that have been very successful here," he continued. "A lot of them are really tough and disciplined. That’s what we’re looking for right now.”