Kenyon Octavia Coleman (born April 10, 1979) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

Early life

Coleman was born in

Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It ...

to Johnny and Patsy Coleman. He attended Alta Loma High School in Alta Loma, California, where he played

as an offensive and defensive lineman, while helping his teams win two CIF championships. He earned All-State honors as a sophomore, but his junior season was cut short after fracturing his left leg. As a senior, he was named to the PrepStar

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

team. He also played three years of varsity

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

College career

Coleman accepted a football scholarship from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, where he majored in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. During his college career, he had 138 tackles and 16.5 sacks. He earned All-Pac-10 honorable-mention honors as a true sophomore and second-team All-Pac-10 as a junior. In 2000 as a senior, he suffered torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee, playing against Michigan University in the third game of the season. Coleman was granted a medical

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

, coming back in 2001 as a fifth year senior to earn third-team

, All-Pac-10 and winning the

Morris Trophy Coaches of the Pac-12 Conference bestow the following awards at the end of each football season. The conference was founded in its current form as the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959, but traces its roots to the Pacific Coast C ...

as the conference's top lineman.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Coleman was selected by the

in the fifth round (147th overall) of the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. He made his

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

debut against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in week 5. As a rookie, he was declared inactive in 15 regular season games and all 3 playoff contests. At the start of his second season, the emergence of other young

defensive ends Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

made him expendable in the eyes of Raiders management. He was traded to the

on August 31,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, in exchange for a

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

7th round draft choice (#223- Jacques Reeves) and a

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

6th round pick (#185- Chad Owens).

Dallas Cowboys (first stint)

, he was a backup

for the

, registering 15 tackles (one for loss), one sack, 3 quarterback pressures, one fumble recovery and one pass defensed. The next year, he made 10 tackles, one sack and 2 quarterback pressures. In

, he started five of the 12 games he appeared in, posting 17 tackles (one for loss), a half sack and one quarterback pressure. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, he registered 32 tackles (one for loss), 4 sacks, one quarterback pressure, 4 passes defensed and a forced fumble. He spent four seasons with the Cowboys as a reserve, recording 68 tackles and 6.5 sacks. He played in a

4–3 defense In American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). However, ...

in his first two years, before the Cowboys switched to a

3–4 defense In American football, the 3–4 defense is a common defensive alignment consisting of three down Defensive lineman, linemen and four linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it will readily switch to other defensive alignments (such as ...

New York Jets

On March 6,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

he was signed by the

as an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, becoming a starter and leading all

s in tackles with 90. The next year, he made 64 tackles, a half sack and 2 passes defensed. On April 25,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, he was traded to the

along with

Brett Ratliff Brett Ratliff (born August 8, 1985) is an American former professional football quarterback. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Butte College and Utah. He has also been a member of ...

, Abram Elam, a first round pick (#17-

Josh Freeman Joshua Tyler Freeman (born January 13, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats, and was selected by the Ta ...

) and a second round pick (#52- David Veikune), as part of a trade to acquire the fifth overall pick in the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

to select

Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans ...

Cleveland Browns

In Cleveland, he was reunited with former

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Eric Mangini Eric Anthony Mangini (born January 19, 1971) is an American former professional football coach and current television sports analyst. He served as a head coach for the New York Jets from 2006 to 2008 and the Cleveland Browns from 2009 to 2010. ...

and played as the Browns left

starter. He registered 38 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 2 passes defensed. The next year, he recorded 68 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 3 fumble recoveries. He was released on February 9,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On July 30,

, after losing Stephen Bowen in

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

and hiring his former Browns

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

Rob Ryan Robert Allen Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American football coach who is currently an assistant head coach for the USC Trojans. Ryan has served as a defensive coordinator or assistant coach for nine different NFL teams. He was the lineb ...

, the Cowboys signed him as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

to a 2-year contract worth $3.75 million. During his second stint with the Cowboys, he was named the starter at left

, and his physical size and strength was used to improve the team's run defense, starting 15-of-16 games, while making 44 tackles (tenth on the team), one sack, 5 tackles for loss (fifth on the team), 2 passes defensed and 4 quarterback pressures. In

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, his season ended early with a torn triceps in his left arm (suffered against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

) that required season-ending surgery, he finished with 5 starts (missed two games with a knee injury), 22 tackles, 2 quarterback pressures and one forced fumble.

New Orleans Saints

On April 1,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, Coleman signed a one-year deal with the

, reuniting him once again with the former

' defensive coordinator

. On August 7, the team announced that he suffered a torn pectoral muscle and would miss the entire 2013 season. On August 19, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

. He announced his retirement on February 21,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Kenyon Coleman player profile from ESPNKenyon Coleman profile from UCLA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Kenyon 1979 births Living people Players of American football from Fontana, California American football defensive ends UCLA Bruins football players Oakland Raiders players Dallas Cowboys players New York Jets players Cleveland Browns players New Orleans Saints players Alta Loma High School alumni