Lincoln Coleman

Lincoln Coleman
No. 44
Position: Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: (1969-08-12) 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
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 12
Rush Attempts: 98
Rushing Yards: 312
Rush Avg.: 3.2
Touchdowns: 3
Receiving Yards: 70
Player stats at NFL.com
Career Arena statistics
Rush Att-Yards-TDs: 191-736-25
Rec-Yards-Tds: 19-211-2
Tackles: 58
Sacks: 2.0
Fumble recoveries: 3
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, and he played on the special teams where excelled as a member of the travel squad. At the end of his freshmen year he transferred to Baylor University and in his redshirt year he was given an award for excellence as a practice squad player. After graduation in '91 he started work at Home Depot and played semi pro football with the Dallas Colts for 2yrs.

Professional career

Coleman played football for the semi-professional team the Dallas Colts. In 1993, Coleman was working on 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.[2]

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.[3]

On November 18, he was promoted to the active roster to backup both Emmit Smith and Darryl Johnson.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] He was released on August 27.[8] He was signed again on February 1, 1996.[9] 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.[10] 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 onto 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

  1. "Notre Dame". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  2. "Cowboys Pick Up a Used Lincoln Coleman Comes to Dallas". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  3. "Coleman Lugs a Happy Load for the Cowboys". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  4. "Cowboys' Coleman Catches a Break Dallas Activates Former Arena Player for Backup Role at RB". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  5. "Rice Family Shares Grief of Dallas' Lett". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  6. "Skins outbid Cowboys". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  7. "Transactions". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  8. "Transactions". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  9. "Transactions". Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  10. "Mustangs Bios". Retrieved January 3, 2016.

External links

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