Report: Mississippi State to hire Wisconsin assistant Cooper

Mississippi State will hire Wisconsin secondary coach Ron Cooper as defensive coordinator, according to a report by The Sun Herald newspaper. <br> <br> Citing anonymous sources on its Web site Monday night, the Biloxi newspaper said Cooper was expected to remain with the Badgers through the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28. <br> <br> Cooper would not confirm or deny that he has accepted the job when contacted by The Sun Herald. <br> <br> Cooper would replace Joe Lee Dunn, who was fired along with four other assistants last week. The Bulldogs are coming off their second straight three-win season, <br> <br> Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton told The Associated Press that no coaches had been hired yet, but an announcement on hirings is expected later this week. <br> <br> He would not discuss possible candidates. <br> <br> Cooper was hired as an assistant by Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez in February after spending four season as coach at Alabama A&M. <br> <br> Cooper guided Alabama A&M from NCAA Division II status to Division I-AA as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, going 22-23. <br> <br> Before that, Cooper coached at Louisville from 1995-97, where he was 13-20, and at Eastern Michigan from 1993-94, where he went 9-13. <br> <br> He began his coaching career as an assistant at Minnesota in 1984.