Monte Coleman

Monte Leon Coleman (born November 4, 1957 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas) is a former American football linebacker who played for sixteen seasons with the Washington Redskins from 1979 to 1994. He is currently the head football coach for Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Football career

Coleman played college football at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, then a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school. He played safety his first three years before being converted to the linebacker position as a senior. He set a school record with 22 interceptions and became the first player from Central Arkansas drafted in the NFL when the Redskins chose him in the 11th of the 12 rounds of the 1979 NFL Draft with the 289th overall selection. (The draft now consists of seven rounds.)

Coleman played for the Redskins (and in the NFL) in parts of three decades: the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s. On the all-time list of games played as a Redskin, Monte Coleman is currently second having played in 217 games, Darrell Green is first. He is one of only three men to play at least 16 seasons with the franchise, along with quarterback Sammy Baugh (16) and Green (20). Coleman’s 56.5 sacks are the team's fourth-highest all-time total.

Coleman played in the Super Bowl four times, winning three: Super Bowl XVII, Super Bowl XVIII, Super Bowl XXII, and Super Bowl XXVI.

Honors

Monte Coleman made “the all Madden Team” in 1993.

He selected by Washingtonian Magazine as the Washingtonian of the Year Award in 1996. Coleman was inducted to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.

In 2003, he was named one of the 70 Greatest Redskins.

The Redskins' policy since Baugh's retirement has been to not retire numbers. However, some numbers are unofficially retired and are usually withheld from being assigned to new players and Coleman’s number 51 is one of a handful of such numbers.

Won 2007 Elijah Pitts Award (named after the Conway, Arkansas, native and Green Bay Packer legend) for Conway athletic lifetime achievement.

Life after football

Coleman currently lives in Pine Bluff, Arkansas with his wife Yvette and their three children. He was employed at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff as a linebacker coach and team chaplain. On November 26, 2007, Coleman was named Head Football Coach at the university, and is also making a living as a motivational speaker.

External links

• Coleman’s Playing Statistics [1]
• Redskins Official Article [2]
• Motivational Speaker Biography [3]