Illinois adds two assistants to football staff

Bret Bielema added two assistants to his 2026 staff on Friday.

Former NFL linebacker Roger Cooper was named the team's inside linebackers coach.

Cooper comes from new defensive coordinator's Bobby Hauck's staff at Montana, where he worked since 2022.

He played in the NFL from 2005-07 with the Cowboys, 49ers and Chargers.

Also joining the staff is Ronnie Bradford as the secondary coach. He worked on Hauck's staff in 2023 as the defensive coordinator for the Grizzlies, but worked the last two seasons as a senior special assistant for the NFL's Dolphins.

Bradford has 10 years of NFL experience as a DB and 20 years of coaching experience.