All About Arch Manning’s Dad Cooper Manning — and How He Led the Quarterback to the Texas Longhorns

Arch Manning’s biggest fan is his dad, Cooper Manning.

The Texas Longhorns quarterback comes from a football dynasty: Arch is the grandson of former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning and he’s also the nephew of NFL greats Peyton and Eli Manning.

All eyes were on Arch when he took over for injured quarterback Quinn Ewers and made his first start for then-No. 1 Texas against Louisiana-Monroe in September 2024. After a rocky first drive that resulted in an interception, the redshirt freshman threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns.

Looking on was his dad, Cooper, who admitted that watching him in the spotlight brought a rollercoaster of emotions. Speaking on the Golf’s Subpar podcast about the moment, he revealed that although it was “nerve-racking” watching Arch on the field, he was still taking everything in.

“I’m trying to enjoy it and just want him to enjoy it,” the dad of three said. “If he’s happy, I’m happy; if he’s distraught, I’m probably a little bit that way too. You just want your children to be happy.”

Apart from excelling at the sport, Cooper wants Arch to be known as “a good teammate.” He added, “Those small things that the fans and critics don’t see are important to me. He’s enjoying it, learning, getting better, and just kind of growing up, which I think is what college is all about.”

From growing up with football legends to advising his son, here’s everything to know about Arch Manning’s dad, Cooper Manning.

He’s from New Orleans

Cooper’s roots in Louisiana began when his father, Archie, was drafted to play for the New Orleans Saints in 1971. During his time as a quarterback for the NFL team — which lasted until 1982 — Archie and his wife, Olivia Manning, welcomed Cooper and his brothers in the Crescent City.

The Manning family’s firstborn still lives in the area with his own family and enjoys others visiting his hometown.

Cooper even shared some insider tips with Town & Country in November 2016, including the local bar that he and his wife, Ellen Heidingsfelder, like to frequent and the restaurant where he ate Christmas dinner growing up.

“Make a local friend and go to their house for a crawfish boil,” Cooper suggested. “In the spring, New Orleanians boil crawfish in the front or backyard and the smell of the spices and the food is just delicious. Corn, potatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic — you name it. It is the absolute best.”

He has been married since 1999

Cooper met his wife, Ellen, in the early ’90s, and they later wed in 1999.

Like her husband, Ellen is a New Orleans native with an athletic background. As a skilled middle hitter, she led the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans to its first-ever volleyball state championship in 1986. Ellen also shone in track, earning all-district honors for the high jump. She was inducted into the Sacred Heart Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

When Arch had a 67-yard rushing touchdown against UTSA in September 2024, his dad attributed the athletic play to Ellen’s track abilities.

“Definitely got his speed from mom,” Cooper captioned a post with a photo of his son and wife.

Academically, Ellen was a top performer: After graduating from Sacred Heart, she attended the University of Virginia and later earned her law degree from Loyola University New Orleans.

During an appearance on the Youth Inc. podcast in March 2022, Cooper shared that his wife is “one of these gals that’s just good at everything.”

“She can jump on a karaoke machine, and she can dance, she can paint, she can play mahjong, then she can go out and play volleyball, hit a golf ball — she can do everything well,” he explained. “So she deserves a lot more credit than the Manning side of these genes.”

He’s a father of three

Besides Arch, Cooper and his wife share two other children.

Their oldest child, daughter May, is currently a student at the University of Virginia, where she is a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

She previously attended her mother’s alma mater — Academy of the Sacred Heart — and served as the captain of the volleyball team, according to MaxPreps. Like her mom, May won the Louisiana State Division IV girls volleyball championship and was named the most valuable player.

Heid is the youngest of Cooper’s kids. He played football at Isidore Newman School, following in the footsteps of his father, uncles and older brother, per The Dallas Morning News. The former center is now studying at the University of Texas.

Even with Arch’s growing status as a football star and his siblings’ athletic achievements, Cooper revealed that their household maintains a down-to-earth approach.

“At the dinner table, we’re talking about what happened at lunch at school, and someone has a crush on somebody,” he said on the Youth Inc. podcast. “It’s not like X’s and O’s, and the salt and pepper shaker is three deep. I mean, it’s a very normal, regular conversation as if they weren’t even athletes.”

He’s a former athlete

Cooper was once a standout all-state receiver in high school, known for catching touchdown passes from his younger brother, Peyton, at Isidore Newman School, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

The oldest Manning brother was highly touted and prepared to play college football at the University of Mississippi. However, his promising athletic future was cut short when he began experiencing numbness in his hands and fingers before his freshman year began in 1992.

After a series of tests, doctors diagnosed him with spinal stenosis, a condition involving the narrowing of the spinal canal, which ultimately ended his football career and required him to have surgery, according to Forbes.

Despite his brothers’ immense success on the professional level, Cooper remained their biggest cheerleader and didn’t focus on what might have been.

“When they took football away from me, I never took it out on the game,” he told USA Today. “I really never had any bitterness. I just said, this is the hand I’m dealt and I’m going to play it.”

He works in TV and finance

Cooper has been sharing his football insights and humor on Fox NFL Kickoff through The Manning Hour since 2014. The show, known for its short, two-minute segments, features a range of guests, from top athletes to well-known actors.

In addition, Cooper previously teamed up with his brother Peyton to host and executive produce two seasons of NBC’s Capital One College Bowl, in which students were tasked with answering several rounds of trivia questions about football.

Beyond sports, Cooper has a career in business as the senior managing director of investor relations at AJ Capital Partners. Previously, he worked with Howard Weil in New Orleans, where he played a key role in the company’s sale in 2012, per a press release.

He helped Arch make a major decision

When Arch emerged as one of the most highly sought-after high school quarterbacks in recent history, the Manning family thoroughly researched his college options.

Arch visited several top programs, including Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss, and LSU. When it was finally time for him to make a decision, his father, Cooper, offered the most straightforward and practical guidance.

“My goal the whole time as a dad was just to be there as kind of a concierge,” Cooper told reporters at the Manning Passing Academy in June 2024.

He continued, “At the end of the day, I said, ‘When, on Sunday night, when you’ve thrown four interceptions, and your girlfriend broke up with you, and you got two tests on Monday that you haven’t studied for, and it’s raining, and it’s cold, and you’re a little bit homesick, where do you want to be?’ ”

“And (Arch) goes, ‘I want to be at the University of Texas.’ And I said, ‘Well, there’s your answer. Done,’ ” Cooper concluded.