Jump to content

Coates joining coaching staff at Florida school


aubiefifty

Recommended Posts

al.com

Sammie Coates joining coaching staff at Florida school

By Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

4-5 minutes

Former NFL wide receiver Sammie Coates is joining the football coaching staff at Jensen Beach High School, Falcons coach Tim Caffey announced on Thursday.

Coates is a former Leroy High School and Auburn standout who played in 45 NFL regular-season and four playoff games in the NFL and most recently was on the field for the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL earlier this year.

Caffey played quarterback at Huffman High School in Birmingham before going to Samford and West Alabama.

The Florida high school is a Class 5A member of the Florida High School Athletic Association, which has eight size classifications. The Falcons are District 14 members and compete in the Treasure Lake Conference. Current Auburn safety Jamien Sherwood played at Jensen Beach.

Coates won the Class 2A Back of the Year Award while playing on Leroy’s 2010 state championship team, and he also was an All-State baseball player for the Bears.

At Auburn, Coates caught 82 passes for 1,757 yards and 13 touchdowns in three seasons, including setting a Tigers’ Iron Bowl record with 206 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions in a 55-44 loss to Alabama in 2014.

A third-round choice of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2015 NFL Draft, Coates caught 19 passes for 421 yards and two touchdowns, with six receptions that gained at least 40 yards, in the first five games of his second season. At that point in the 2016 campaign, Coates led the NFL with an average of 22.2 yards per reception.

The fifth game of that season was the best of Coates' career. He caught six passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-13 victory over the New York Jets. But he also broke his left index finger and ripped a gash in his left hand that required seven stitches. Later in the season, Coates broke the ring finger on his left hand and sustained a groin injury. The injuries limited Coates to two receptions for 14 yards for the rest of the 2016 season.

During the offseason between the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Coates had groin and knee surgeries. The knee surgery took place in July, and Coates didn't hit the practice field in training camp until Aug. 16. The Steelers traded Coates to the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 2, 2017.

Coates caught six passes for 70 yards for Cleveland in 2017. He played in 11 games, getting on the field for 92 offensive snaps and 148 special-teams plays for the Browns while dealing with shoulder, ankle and knee injuries.

In 2018, Coates played in 12 games with the Texans, getting on the field for 37 offensive snaps and 137 special-teams plays. He caught one pass for 12 yards.

In 2019, Coates was on the roster of the Kansas City Chiefs, but he was released during the offseason program.

Coates had six receptions for 61 yards for Houston when the XFL’s season ended abruptly in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Roughnecks had the league’s only unbeaten record at 5-0.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.

Link to comment
Share on other sites





That is so exciting! The young student athletes are getting a good one!  I haven't heard much of pro-returns-to-high-school-coaching.  It's a financial sacrifice, but oh, for more like him!  As I scan the article and see the injuries and other obstacles, he is bringing a lot to the fieldhouse that goes beyond football and "making it big." Thank you for sharing, Fifty!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...