At club level he played with Nemo Rangers and was a member of and later coached the Cork senior football team.
Cogan first came to Gaelic football prominence as a schoolboy at Coláiste Chríost Rí before later winning a Sigerson Cup title with University College Cork in 1966.
[4] Cogan's performances at underage levels saw him drafted onto the Cork senior football team and he made his debut against Dublin during the 1965-66 league.
At inter-county level he coached the Cork minor team to an All-Ireland final defeat by Galway in 1976.
[6] Cogan's grandfather, Matt Gargan, won five All-Ireland Championships with the Kilkenny senior hurling team in a seven-season spell from 1907 to 1913.