He signed with the Cleveland Browns in the AAFC after his discharge from the military and played one season for the team, moving to the Buffalo Bills in 1947.

[2] Coppage was a member of a 1938 Sooners team that went undefeated and was ranked fourth in the country by the Associated Press before losing in the Orange Bowl to Tennessee.

[4] He played for the team for three seasons before leaving to serve in the Pacific theater of World War II.

[5][6] After returning from service as a corporal in the Twentieth Air Force, he was acquired in 1946 by the Cleveland Browns, a team under formation in the All-America Football Conference.

They stole $300 and abducted two female employees, took them to an abandoned garage and shot both in the head and face; one of them died.