 That loss was Notre Dame's lone setback of the 1977 campaign, as they finished the season with an 11–1 record and claimed both the AP and UPI national titles.Cooper is now the assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia.Following the 1977 season, Steve Sloan, the former All-American quarterback at Alabama under Paul "Bear" Bryant, was hired as the new Rebel head coach and began his five-year stint in 1978.