Good Bye, Coop, and Good Luck

According this blog post by Jason Jones, Jarrod Cooper wasn't so much cut as he retired.

Money quote:

Here's Kiffin on Jarrod Cooper's decision to retire this morning:

"Cooper came in this morning and just decided that it was time. He played (seven) years in the league, has had three knee surgeries, he's never regained his speed on this last surgery, that was obvious in the preseason games. Whether we would have released him or not, that is really irrelevant. He came in and was just done playing and wanted to retire. He said bye to everybody. We wish him the best. He's a really neat guy who has done a lot of things here, has a lot of relationships with a lot of the players here. It maybe even something that we keep him involved during the season, coming in on Wednesdays during the special teams meetings, being around the guys and working with the young guys as well."

I'm glad to hear that they'll keep Coop around in some fashion. The guy played balls out every time he was on the field. Off the field, he was as good a guy as you'll hear about in professional sports, as this Jason Jones story about his work rehabilitating dogs showed.

If you can read that story and not like the guy, then, as Tommy Lasorda might say, you don't like Christmas and Easter. The Raiders are a better organization for having a guy like him on the team, and the Bay Area is a better place having someone like Coop living here. (Yes, I know he was serving a suspension for violating the substance abuse policy. But I've never read a story about Koren Robinson or Leonard Little--who actually killed a person driving drunk--where they did something positive on their suspensions. Coop showed accountability and class and became a better person.)

Good luck, Coop. If you ever do become a veterinarian, you've got a customer.