After a 4-8 debut season as a head coach, Gerad Parked is making an addition to his defensive staff as he prepares to lead the Trojans into year two.
Sources tell FootballScoop Parker and the Troy program are adding veteran defensive coordinator Brandon Cooper to the staff to coach defensive backs.
Cooper was recently promoted to defensive coordinator at Samford (FCS - AL), where he also worked with the team's linebackers.
In his first season working with the defense in 2022, he helped turned the defense around into a critical component behind the Bulldogs best season in three decades, winning 11 games and going 8-0 en route to the outright SoCon title. They would go on to make a run to the FCS quarterfinals before ending their season.
A veteran defensive coordinator, Cooper has also held coordinator roles at both Charlotte and Austin Peay and has led secondary units that have won FCS conference titles and been a part of major turnarounds.
At Charlotte, he worked with the secondary for three seasons in addition to serving as co-defensive coordinator and ranked among the top 15 nationally and top two among C-USA programs in pass defense.
With the Govs, he was part of one of the most impressive turnarounds in college football, taking a team from 1-45 in their previous 46 games to a 13-6 record against FCS foes in his final two seasons with the program.
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