Cooper's New Coach

[Snyder_TigerFan]

Cooper picks a coach
Spradlin has accepted job, boss at University of Houston says

By Troy Shockley / Reporter-News Staff Writer
January 17, 2006

Cooper has apparently found its man.

University of Houston head football coach Art Briles confirmed Monday that Houston assistant coach Mike Spradlin has accepted the football head coach and athletic coordinator position at Cooper High School.

Spradlin has worked as an offensive line coach at Houston since 2003.

''I've known Mike for 30 years. I've known what type of person he is, and the last few years I've gotten to know what type of coach he is,'' Briles said. ''You're getting a winner. You're getting a leader, and an energetic person that loves and cares about young people.''

The hire, which won't become official until being approved by the school board, comes after a nearly two-month search necessitated by Cooper Principal Gail Gregg's reassignment of Marty Secord in late November. Secord resigned from Cooper earlier this month to accept the head coaching position at Frisco Wakeland High School.

Secord was 9-11 in his two years with the Cougars, and the team missed the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

Gregg wouldn't comment Monday on whether a new coach had been selected, but confirmed that a press conference will take place sometime today.

''I can't comment until I go through the proper channels here,'' Gregg said. ''I look forward to having a press conference tomorrow (Tuesday) but, until then, I can't comment.''

After Spradlin's interview with Gregg on Jan. 10, however, the principal said he was impressed with the candidate.

''He likes to go in and turn programs around,'' Gregg said. ''I think he'd be good on the football end, but also on the athletic coordinator end, too.''

Gregg has interviewed four candidates for the Cooper coaching position.

Spradlin joined the Houston coaching staff after a four-year stint at Round Rock Westwood High School, leading the 2002 team to a 7-4 record and the school's first district championship. He also coached at Midland Christian and Navasota High School, leading both teams to the playoffs - Midland Christian reaching the state semifinals in 1996.

Spradlin was first hired as a coach at Cooper in 1980, where he worked under Ray Overton as the offensive coordinator for three years. He moved on to join Overton at Irving MacArthur and worked there as both offensive coordinator and offensive line coach until 1986.

He then left coaching for nine years and worked as a district manager at Pride Refining Inc. before returning to the sideline at Midland Christian.

Briles said despite Spradlin's short stint in Houston, he isn't leaving because of an inability to coach at the collegiate level. He added that there shouldn't be any problems making the college-to-high school switch.

''He's proven himself on the collegiate level,'' Briles said. ''He's helped us to become one of the most productive offenses in the nation in the last three years, and I don't imagine he'll have any problem making that transition.

''Abilene Cooper is fixin' to be energized.''

[injuredinmelee]

wow what a step down. I know Cougar High isnt that great of a job but Cooper???

[3afan]

hey - its a 5A head coaching job in Texas ... and Cooper was once a power, no reason they cannot be again. i know times/attendance boundaries/demographics have changed, but it seems like a tremendous opportunity

[Johnny Utah]

He just got a big time pay raise, is in total control of his program, etc... Think about it!!!

[STANG RED]

Spradlin ready to open up Cooper's offense
By Troy Shockley / Reporter-News Staff Writer
January 18, 2006

Its official: Mike Spradlin is the new head football coach and athletic coordinator at Cooper High School.

And Cooper fans can expect to see a more high-octane offense on the gridiron next fall.

The decision to hire Spradlin - working since 2003 as the offensive line coach under Art Briles at the University of Houston - was announced on Tuesday by Cooper Principal Gail Gregg.

The other men to interview for the position were Daingerfield's Randall Hugg, Jim Taylor of New Caney and Todd York of Terrell. Gregg said while all four men interviewed were quality candidates, Spradlin's attitude set him apart.

''It was his enthusiasm, his excitement, his roll-up-the-sleeves-and-get-to-work attitude and his no-excuses approach,'' Gregg said. ''Boy, those just jumped out at me.''

Gregg said Spradlin's maturity and experience were big factors in the decision as well, along with his proven ability to handle the administrative aspect of being a Texas high school athletic coordinator.

He added that Spradlin's contract, pending approval by the school board, is for three years and the pay will be the same as what Spradlin's predecessor, Mary Secord, received - $89,741 plus a $6,000 car allowance per year.

''I'm thrilled,'' said Spradlin, who worked as an assistant coach at Cooper for three years starting in 1980. ''It's kind of funny how life twists and turns, but I'm just so fired up to be here. It's a great place to be - not just Abilene, but here at Cooper.''

The new coach isn't the only one excited.

''He immediately came in today and said we're not gonna waste any time and that we're gonna get right to work,'' said Zach Stewart, likely to be next year's starting quarterback. ''It's pretty exciting. This morning he talked about the offense a little bit, and I started to get pretty fired up about that. He's been at places that he's gone in and turned around, and that's what we need here.''

Spradlin said the decision to leave Houston and longtime friend Briles was a difficult one. At the same time, he'd kept his eye on Cooper since he'd left. He said he was aware of previous opportunities to return, he didn't pursue the job until now because the timing wasn't right.

He added that if the job with the Cougars hadn't been open, he'd still be, well, a Cougar.

''It was a little awkward for me,'' he said of telling Briles of the move. ''To me, it's a little bit of a loyalty thing. But he understood why I would want to be standing here today. I just loved it here, and I swore if I ever had a chance ... if I'm not standing here, I'm not going anywhere else.''

Spradlin said making the switch from college to high school, where he's spent most of his coaching career, won't be a problem.

''Coaching's coaching,'' he said, simply.

The biggest change will be his move from assistant coach to head coach. Spradlin said as the offensive line coach at Houston, all he did every day was work with that group of young men. As a head coach, however, he can work with every member of the team.

Spradlin believes his ability to work with more students - younger students - will give him a greater chance to have an on impact athletes' lives.

''I like to affect kids' lives,'' he said. ''Not that you can't do it on that level, because you can. But I believe you can do it more here. For me, it was all about being here.''

Of course now that he's there, he has quite a bit on his plate. Not only does he have to focus on turning the Cougar football team around, but he also has to worry about other matters such as the impending UIL realignment and the AISD school boundary debate.

Spradlin said he isn't all that concerned about those peripheral issues. More important, he said, is what happens in the classroom, in the weight room and on the field - all things he can control.

''First of all, this isn't my first rodeo,'' he said. ''There's no telling what'll happen. Wherever they put us, that's where we're gonna be and that's where we'll play.''

And as far as how they'll play, Spradlin also has some thoughts on that.

The Cougars' style next season will, in large part, depend on what they've got to work with. But overall, fans can look forward to a good show.

''We'll be wide open on offense,'' Spradlin said. ''We'll have a whole lot of motion and shifts. It's a situation where you've gotta evaluate you kids. But we're gonna play tenacious defense, and we're gonna be wide open and exciting on offense.''

Spradlin at a glance

University of Houston offensive line and tight end coach Mike Spradlin became the third Cooper football coach in four years on Tuesday, succeeding Marty Secord who was reassigned in late November following a 9-11 record over two years.


Hometown: Dallas, 1973 graduate of David W. Carter High School

Wife: Roxanne (28 years)

Children: Bethany (25), Kimberly (23) and Clint (21)

Head Coaching Record: 42-32

Assistant Experience: Graduate assistant, University of Houston, 1977; offensive line, Brazosport High School, 1978-79; offensive coordinator/offensive line/defensive line, Cooper High School, 1980-83; offensive coordinator/offensive line, Irving MacArthur High School, 1983-1985; offensive line, University of Houston, 2002-2006

Head Coaching Experience: Midland Christian, 1996-98; Navasota High School, 1998-99; Westwood High School, 1999-2002

Career Highlights: Defeated No. 1-ranked Highland Park while at Irving MacArthur; first 11-man coach in Midland Christian history; led Midland Christian to the state semifinals in his first year, defeating No. 1-ranked Fort Worth Christian along the way and earning 1996 TAPPS Coach of the Year; moved Navasota from a 2-win season in year before his arrival to a 6-5 playoff team in 1998, the school's first postseason appearance; defeated No. 1-ranked Westlake at Westwood; helped earn Westlake its first-ever district title and tied second-best record (7-4) in school history; helped U of H to No. 1-ranked offense in C-USA in 2005 and two bowl games in three years for the first time since 1980-81.