Chris Cooley Out of Washington Football Organization, Radio Broadcast

Chris Cooley knew his time with the Washington Football Team came to a close a few months back, but he wants fans to know how much he enjoyed it and that he has no hard feelings about his departure.

"The Redskins provided a great job for me for the last six years," Cooley said Thursday morning in an interview on The Team 980. "They were the Redskins then, and the Washington Football Team will not provide a great job for me."

The team finalized their new radio broadcast this week, announcing that DeAngelo Hall would serve as the analyst alongside Julie Donaldson as the host and Bram Weinstein doing play-by-play. Hall essentially replaces Cooley, but the former Washington tight end believes Hall will do a great job.

"I can talk about it but I'm not going to talk about it," Cooley said. "I just wanted to say I think DeAngelo Hall is going to be pretty good at it."

Cooley also confirmed he's out of the organization completely, so fans should not expect any of the podcasts or video work he used to provide on the team's website. Kevin Sheehan, who hosted a morning show with Cooley on The Team 980 for a few years and conducted the interview, hinted that perhaps a reunion could be in the works, or at least more appearances.

A tight end in Washington for nine seasons, Cooley twice made the Pro Bowl and recorded 429 catches for more than 4,700 yards and 33 touchdowns. A fan favorite throughout his career, Cooley became a rock star traveling with the team for the last six seasons for radio broadcasts. At road rallies Washington fans would besiege Cooley for autographs and pictures.

While it was known privately for some time that Cooley wanted a job in coaching, he revealed that publicly while speaking with Sheehan.

"It was going to become a tough decision in the future for me," Cooley said of the radio job. "Over the last few years I've had this dream that I would become an NFL football coach. It is not an easy job to acquire."

He explained that he had an opportunity for a coaching internship with another team for this fall, but the grind required for young coaches to grow in the industry was not something Cooley wanted to put his family through. He has two young children.

"Moving forward in the next phase of my life I can't spend every weekend on the road," Cooley said.

Washington Football media executive Donaldson tweeted her support of Cooley on Thursday morning, saying, "A decision was made at the beginning of the year that Chris Cooley would no longer be a part of the broadcast team. Personally, I loved listening to Cooley and have the upmost respect for him and his work. He's one of a kind and will always be around as a beloved alum."

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