CHAMPAIGN — Bret Bielema's commitment to run the 3-3-5 defense Bobby Hauck brought to Montana certainly can't be questioned.
Four days after hiring Hauck as Illinois' new defensive coordinator, Bielema has now added two more defensive assistants with ties to the Grizzlies. That includes new inside linebackers coach Roger Cooper, who's addition to the Illini staff came 2 hours after the hire of secondary coach Ronnie Bradford.
Cooper spent the previous four seasons at Montana working for Hauck. The former Montana State linebacker coached the Grizzlies' safeties in 2022, linebackers in 2023 and was co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2024-25.
"Coach Cooper has had an accomplished career on the defensive side of the ball as a coordinator, position coach, and player," Bielema said in an official release. "He will bring valuable experience to our program, both for our inside linebackers and our entire defense. Coach Cooper will be working alongside Archie McDaniel, who will be our outside linebackers coach. I am excited to get he and his family to Champaign."
Cooper played at Montana State from 2000-04 and left Bozeman, Mont., as the 2004 Big Sky Defensive MVP and an FCS Second Team All-American. He played three seasons in the NFL and NFL Europe from 2005-07 with stints with the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, San Diego Chargers and Frankfurt Galaxy before a career-ending injury.
Cooper returned to Bozeman to start his coaching career as an assistant at Bozeman High School in 2010 before landing back at his alma mater a year later as a graduate assistant. He then spent nine seasons as an assistant at Idaho State before joining Hauck's staff at Montana in 2022.
"Thank you to Coach Bielema and Coach Hauck for the opportunity," Cooper said in the release. "I am super excited to get to work with Coach McDaniel and the rest of our staff in Champaign. Illinois has a championship standard and a history of elite linebackers, and I'm ready to build on that proud tradition with an outstanding group of student-athletes."