Every week of the NFL off-season, the New England Patriots office at Last Word on Pro Football has celebrated the lives and careers of legendary Patriots. Last week, we took a look at Sam Cunningham‘s historic participation in one of the best rushing attacks in league history. This week, we turn our eye to tight end, Ben Coates.
New England Patriots of the Past: Willie McGinest
New England Patriots of the Past: Houston Antwine
Ben Coates: The Surprise Star
Before the Patriots
Before Ben Coates joined the Patriots organization, his football career sputtered along without much hope for the future.
He didn’t begin playing football until his senior year at Greenwood High School in Greenwood, South Carolina. He went on to play several sports, including football, at Livingstone College.
Coates broke record after record as a football player at Livingstone. Unfortunately for Coates, Livingstone competed in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). This meant that Coates’ consistent dominance over opponents was overshadowed by the lack of talent on opposing teams and Livingstone’s lack of note as an athletic college.
The lack of awareness about Coates in the NFL caused him to slip considerably in the 1991 NFL Draft. Finally, Coates was selected in the fifth round, 124th overall, by the New England Patriots.
Patriots Career
For the first two years of his career, it almost looked like selecting Coates in the fifth round was a mistake for the Patriots. In two years, Coates amassed only four touchdowns and fewer than 300 yards.
Then, the Patriots drafted Drew Bledsoe in 1993.
Bill Parcells came out of retirement to coach the Patriots in 1993 and immediately established a connection between Bledsoe and Coates. Parcells had established himself as fond of a tight end-reliant system and wasted no time in making the most of his athletic third-year tight end.
Coates exploded into relevance, leading the team in receptions with 53 catches for 629 yards and eight touchdowns. The following year, Coates outdid himself. In 1994, Coates set the NFL record for most passes caught by a tight end with 96. That record would stand for 20 years until broken by Tony Gonzalez. 1994 would mark the only year of Coates’ career that he exceeded the 1,000-yard receiving mark.
Although he never re-captured the magic of the 1994 season, Coates went on to have a decent career in New England, never dipping below 62 catches in a season until 1999. During the 1999 season, Coates’ catch percentage fell to a measly 50.8 percent on 63 targets, his lowest number of targets since 1992.
During his career in New England, he earned five Pro Bowl nods, two First Team All-Pro distinctions, and a single Second-Team All-Pro distinction. His outstanding career notched recognition on both the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team and the Patriots All-1990s Team.
Domestic Violence Charges
In July 1998, Coates was charged with domestic assault and battery after a physical altercation with his girlfriend, Jennifer Marshall.
“He threatened to knock me out and I was screaming at him,” Marshall told Franklin Police. “He grabbed me and threw me on top of my car.”
Coates was later acquitted by a Wrentham District Court jury.
After the Patriots
After a less than successful 1999 campaign, Coates was cut by the Patriots, and he decided to take his talents to the Baltimore Ravens. Coates would win the only Super Bowl of his career with Baltimore.
He retired the next year as the fourth-best receiving tight end in NFL history behind Ozzie Newsome, Shannon Sharpe, and Kellen Winslow.
Since his retirement, Coates has served in various capacities on the coaching staffs of the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns. He also served as the head coach of the Livingstone College Blue Bears for a time.
Coates became the first tight end inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2008.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
