Abilene ISD -

Former Cooper football coach Merrill Green, who led the Cougars to their first appearance in a state championship game, passed away on Sept. 29 at the age of 94. He was eulogized Tuesday at First Baptist Church in Bryan and laid to rest in his hometown of Chickasha, Okla., next to his late wife, Bonnie, where they were high school sweethearts.

Green was hired before the 1965 season as the second head football coach in Cooper’s history, and he enjoyed tremendous success. After a 2-6-2 campaign in 1966, he went 9-1 in 1966 but didn’t make the playoffs in the days when only one team from each district reached the postseason.

However, he was building one of the state’s most outstanding programs, and it showed the following season when the Cougars went 13-1 and reached the Class 4A state championship game at TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. The Cougars lost a controversial 20-19 decision to Austin Reagan in the title game. Senior quarterback Jack Mildren appeared to have crossed the goal line on a quarterback sneak on what turned out to be the game’s final play, but the officials ruled he was short of the goal line, and the game ended with Reagan winning the state championship.

He coached at Cooper for four more seasons, taking the Cougars to the playoffs twice (1969 and 1971) before he left after the 1971 season. His record in seven seasons at Cooper was 59-16-3. He then spent 20 seasons as the head coach at Bryan High School, where he compiled a record of 138-65-6 and finished his career with a record of 197-81-9.

Former Cooper head football coach Randy Allen, who played for Green at Cooper and later was an assistant coach at Bryan, said Green’s faith and humanity stand out to him when he remembers his former head coach. He also told KBTX-TV in Bryan/College Station that Green was intense about football.

“He had great humor and intensity, and he could be hard on you,” Allen said of Green. “He was intense about football, but, on the other hand, he could be humorous and fun. He was great to play for, and we loved playing for him.

“He remained a mentor after I got my first head coaching job (at Ballinger High School in 1981),” said Allen, whose 446 wins in 44 seasons as a high school head coach are the second-most in state history behind the 490 wins of retired coach Phil. Danaher. “I would call Coach Green if I had a big decision. I patterned my coaching after his philosophy.”

Coach Green’s complete obituary can be found here.