Lincoln Coleman
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth: | August 12, 1969 | ||||||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 252 lb (114 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Bryan Adams (TX) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Baylor | ||||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 1993 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career Arena statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||||
| Player stats at ArenaFan.com | |||||||||||||||
Lincoln Coleman, Jr. (born August 12, 1969 in (Dallas, TX) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons. Coleman helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl XXVIII, defeating the Buffalo Bills. He played for the Dallas Texans, Milwaukee Mustangs and the Grand Rapids Rampage of the Arena Football League. He played college football at Baylor University.
Early years
Coleman attended Bryan Adams High School, where he was named prep All-American as a senior. He was a highly sought after prospect and accepted a scholarship from the University of Notre Dame in 1987.[1]
In Notre Dame he was converted into a defensive back, playing on special teams as a member of the travel squad. Looking to play as a running back, at the end of his freshmen he decided to transfer to the University of Texas in 1988. When the move fell through, he transferred instead to Baylor University.[2]
In his redshirt year he was given an award for excellence as a practice squad player. He left the school at the end of the 1989 season, after not meeting the academics requirements.[3] He played in 11 games, rushing for 368 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Professional career
Coleman played football for the semi-professional team the Dallas Colts for two years. In 1993, he was working loading docks at different stores, when he signed with the Dallas Texans of the Arena Football League as a part-time job. He was discovered by a Dallas Cowboys trainer (Kevin O'Neill) instead of a scout, while he was watching a Texans game on television.[4]
Because he was bothered by an Achilles tendon injury, he was signed to training camp until August as an undrafted free agent. He was waived on August 30, but showed enough potential to be signed to the team's practice squad.[5]
On November 18, he was promoted to the active roster to backup both Emmit Smith and Darryl Johnson.[6] His NFL debut was in the infamous Leon Lett Thanksgiving game against the Miami Dolphins, replacing an injured Smith and displaying a punishing running style through a sleet-marred field, while rushing for 57 yards on 10 carries. His efforts were lost around all of the media attention that focused on the ending of the game.[7] He went on to become a Super Bowl Champion, but he developed a substance abuse problem and reported to the next year training camp out of shape and overweight at 256 pounds. He was eventually cut on September 6, 1994.[8] Although he was brought back on September 11, he was not re-signed after the season.
On July 21, 1995, he was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Falcons.[9] He was released on August 27.[10] He was signed again on February 1, 1996.[11] He was cut on August 19, only to be re-signed on September 4. He was released on September 24 to make room for quarterback Browning Nagle.
In 1997, he was one of the Arena Football League best rushers with 246 yards, while playing for the Milwaukee Mustangs. The next year he was suspended by the league for undisclosed reasons.[12] He returned in 1999 and led the Mustangs with 138 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns. He helped the Grand Rapids Rampage win the ArenaBowl XV in 2001.
Personal life
After he retired from professional football in 2001, he became an assistant football coach at Creston High School. In 2003, he was named the school's head coach, where he helped develop the football player of the year for the state of Michigan (Justin Hoskins), who went on to play for the University of Notre Dame. In 2007, he moved back to Dallas and became a position coach at W. W. Samuell High School for two years while being the sophomore History teacher. In 2015, he moved to Delray Beach, Florida.
References
- ↑ "Notre Dame". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ↑ "It's Gut-Check Time for Coleman Running Back Must Lighten Own Load If He Wants to Help Ease Cowboys'". Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ↑ "For ex-Dallas Cowboy Lincoln Coleman, tough times bracketed icy holiday heroics". Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ↑ "Cowboys Pick Up a Used Lincoln Coleman Comes to Dallas". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Coleman Lugs a Happy Load for the Cowboys". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Cowboys' Coleman Catches a Break Dallas Activates Former Arena Player for Backup Role at RB". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Rice Family Shares Grief of Dallas' Lett". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Skins outbid Cowboys". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Transactions". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Transactions". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Transactions". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Mustangs Bios". Retrieved January 3, 2016.