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. He had earlier won the first of seven
County Championship medals with the college; the other six were claimed with the
Nemo Rangers club, with whom he also won three
All-Ireland Club Championship titles. Cogan first appeared on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor team that won the county's inaugural
All-Ireland Minor Championship title in 1961. He later spent three seasons with the Cork under-21 team and was at centre-back for the
1965 All-Ireland under-21 final defeat by
Kildare. 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. He was a mainstay on the team for much of the following decade and was at left corner-back for Cork's
1973 All-Ireland Championship success. Cogan's other honours include five
Munster Championship medals and a
Railway Cup title with
Munster, however, a serious leg injury brought his inter-county career to an end in 1974. ==Coaching career==