Disappointed Ohio State Fires Cooper

John Cooper never was as beloved as Woody Hayes at Ohio State. He wasn’t as successful, either.

Cooper was fired Tuesday as the Buckeye coach a day after a 24-7 loss to unranked South Carolina in the Outback Bowl left him 3-8 in bowl games.

“It did not hinge on winning or losing the Outback Bowl, although I would say that yesterday was sort of a capstone on what we have seen as a deteriorating climate within the football program,” Athletic Director Andy Geiger said. “Concern about discipline, competitiveness, academic pursuits, a whole series of things. I thought yesterday, unfortunately, was an exhibit of all those things rolled into one.”

Ohio State will pay Cooper $1.8 million to buy out the last three years of his contract, which paid him more than $1 million a season.

There was no discussion of a replacement though Cooper said he hoped defensive coordinator Fred Pagac would get the job.

Although favored in Monday’s game, Ohio State lost to a South Carolina team that went 0-11 last season and was the only unranked team in a New Year’s Day bowl.

In the weeks before the Outback Bowl, a starting wideout fell off the team with a 0.00 grade-point average, the team most valuable player and leading rusher was held out of the starting lineup for missing the first practice in Tampa, Fla., and one offensive lineman sued another for $50,000 in the wake of an on-field fight in the spring.

The 63-year-old Cooper was 111-43-4 at Ohio State, which finished second in the final AP poll in 1996 and 1998.

But he never lived up to Hayes’ high standards.

Cooper’s victory total and tenure at Ohio State were exceeded only by Hayes, who went 205-61-10 in 28 seasons and led the Buckeyes to the 1968 national title.

Cooper once said he would always pale in comparison to the revered Hayes, who died in 1987.

“A lot of people are never going to like me,” Cooper said.

His Buckeyes struggled in big games, going 2-10-1 against archrival Michigan to go with the losing bowl record. Six times in his 13 years, the Buckeyes closed out their season with consecutive losses to Michigan and in a bowl game.