Jonathan Cooley is in his second season with the Carolina Panthers as the secondary/cornerbacks coach after spending the previous three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams (2020-22), most recently served as the defensive backs coach.
In 2023, Cooley oversaw a unit that allowed 171.5 passing yards per game, which was the lowest in a season in franchise history and third lowest in the league this season. Opposing quarterbacks completed just 64.2% of their passes and the unit allowed the fourth-fewest passing touchdowns in 2023 (19).
In his first season as the defensive backs coach (2022), the Rams tied for seventh in the NFL with 16 interceptions and tied for the 10th-lowest opponent touchdown to interception ratio (1.44). Cornerback Jalen Ramsey tied for 11th in the NFL with four interceptions and second in passes defensed (18), earning his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl nod.
As the assistant secondary coach (2021), working with Ejiro Evero, then the LA secondary coach, Cooley was a part of the Rams' Super Bowl championship with a top-flight defense. The secondary ranked fifth in opponent's passer rating (83.8) and third in interceptions (19). They finished second in the NFL with just 17 passing touchdowns allowed.
In 2019, Cooley was selected by the NFL for the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship after spending the season at the University of Akron as defensive backs coach (2019). Under his guidance, the Zips ranked second in the Mid- American Conference, despite having only one returning starter in the secondary entering the season.
Prior to Akron, Cooley coached the secondary and defensive backs at Kent State (2018) and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (2017) and was a defensive graduate assistant at Kentucky (2015-16).
Cooley spent two seasons as secondary coach at his alma mater, John Carroll University (2013-14) and coached safeties at Bluffton University (2012) while he also served as the team's equipment manager. His first coaching job came as a defensive backs coach and assistant special teams coordinator at Millikin University (2011).
As a player at John Carroll, he was a four-year letter winner and finished in the top 10 in pass breakups for the Blue Streaks.
The Columbus, Ohio native earned his bachelor's degree from John Carroll (2011) and went on to earn an MBA in sports leadership at Kentucky.
2011 | Millikin University - Defensive Backs
2012 | Bluffton University - Safeties
2013-14 | John Carroll University - Secondary
2015-16 | University of Kentucky - Defensive Graduate Assistant
2017 | University of Tennessee-Chattanooga - Defensive Backs
2018 | Kent State University - Secondary
2019 | University of Akron - Defensive Backs
2020 | Los Angeles Rams - Defensive Assistant/Quality Control
2021 | Los Angeles Rams - Assistant Secondary
2022 | Los Angeles Rams - Defensive Backs
2023-pres | Carolina Panthers - Secondary/Cornerbacks
