Big news came within the Bishop O’Connell football program when they announced on Twitter that former Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley will be joining the coaching staff.
Before playing in the NFL, the Wyoming native went to Logan High School (UT) and played college football at Utah State. He was drafted in third round of the NFL Draft to the Washington Redskins, where he played nine seasons.
During his time with the Skins, Cooley was a two-time Pro Bowler and became the team’s all-time leader in receptions at the tight end with 429 catches. Cooley also tallied 4,711 career yards and 33 touchdowns.
Cooley had five seasons where he recorded 700 or more receiving yards. In his second year with the Redskins, Cooley had 774 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, that was the same year he went to his first Pro Bowl. Chris started to have injury problems in 2009 when he broke his ankle against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football and was place on injury reserved.
He bounced back in 2010 when he posted 849 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 16 games. But during the offseason he had surgery on his left knee. Cooley played the first five games of the 2011 season before being put on injury reserve due to his knee.
In 2012, Cooley was cut from the Redskins before the start of the regular season but resigned with the team when Fred Davis went down due to injury. Chris announced his retirement from pro football in 2013 but it wasn’t official. He tried to make a comeback into the league in 2015 after he worked out with the Redskins.
Chris will be a big addition to the O’Connell’s coaching staff. His experience in the NFL will help a Knights team that went 1-8 during the 2015 season. Besides the new face to the team’s coaching staff, O’Connell will be joining a new football league as they left the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. The Knights will be playing football in a six team Virginia Catholic schools league that features Paul VI, Bishop Ireton, Benedictine and Paul the Great.
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