Richard Joseph Coady, IV (born January 26, 1976) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are two slightly di ...
who played in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
(NFL). His father
Rich Coady played in the NFL for the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
.
High school years
Coady attended
J. J. Pearce High School in
Richardson, Texas
Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas.
It is home to the University ...
and was a student and a letterman in football and basketball. In football, as a senior, he was named his team's Most Valuable Player and was an All-District selection and an All-Metroplex selection.
College
Coady attended
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
, where he was a three-year
starter for the
Aggies. Originally came to Texas A&M as a non-scholarship athlete and worked his way into the starting lineup, starting 39 games in a row and becoming an integral part of the Aggies' 1998
Big 12 Conference championship
The Big 12 Conference sponsors championships in 23 sports, 10 men's and 13 women's. The first conference championship awarded was the 1996 softball postseason tournament championship, which was won by Oklahoma.
From 2011 through 2016, the foot ...
team. Led the A&M secondary in tackles for three straight seasons and had eight career interceptions.
As a senior Coady was First-team All-Big 12 and made 86 tackles (57 solo) and had three interceptions. The year before he made 93 tackles (64 solo) and made two interceptions. In 1996, as a sophomore, he had 64 tackles (42) solo and three interceptions. As a freshman Coady was a reserve safety and made 23 tackles (12 solo).
Professional career
Pre-draft
His stock rose quickly in the draft due to his workout at the
NFL Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...
where he tested with a 4.55
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
, 20 reps of . on the
bench press
The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectoralis ...
, a 36"
vertical jump
A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...
and 3.88 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle. He also posted a 330 lb. power clean, 360 lb. bench press and a 450 lb. squat
St. Louis Rams
He was drafted by the
St. Louis Rams in the 3rd round of the
1999 NFL Draft
The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater a ...
. On July 17, 1999, Coady signed a four-year $1.2 million contract with the club. He won a
Super Bowl ring in
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Ra ...
, his
rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
year playing as a reserve safety. He started two games in both 2000 and 2001 due to injuries to the starters. He played three years in St. Louis and was released August 28, 2002.
Tennessee Titans
On August 30, 2002, the
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
claimed Coady and signed him to a one-year $890,000 contract. In the
2002 season Coady played 14 games and started two for the third year in a row. He made 19 tackles and intercepted one pass which he returned 24 yards for a touchdown. He also forced a fumble and deflected three passes.
Indianapolis Colts
Coady signed a one-year $555,000 contract with Indianapolis as a free agent On March 7, 2003.
St. Louis Rams
In the training camp of 2003 the Rams had several injuries at the safety position and Coady was familiar with their system so on August 30, 2003, the Rams traded a conditional seventh-round draft pick to the Colts for Coady, less than six months after signing him as an unrestricted free agent. In 2003 Coady played 13 games and starting five with 41 tackles. On March 24, 2004, the Rams signed Coady to a one-year $561,000 contract for the 2004 season. He played in 16 games and starting five and making 44 tackles. The Rams did not offer Coady a contract for 2005, making him a free agent.
Later career
Coady was signed by the
Atlanta Falcons on March 7, 2005, but was subsequently cut in August 2005.
On August 24, 2005 Coady was signed by the
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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
and less than two weeks later he was waived.
[CowboysPlus.co]
Cowboys sign Coady
Retrieved September 11, 2010.
He worked out with the
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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
prior to the 2006 season, but was not signed.
References
External links
NFL draft articleLeVar Woods Football Academy profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coady, Rich
1976 births
Living people
American football safeties
Atlanta Falcons players
Dallas Cowboys players
Indianapolis Colts players
New Orleans Saints players
St. Louis Rams players
Tennessee Titans players
Texas A&M Aggies football players
Players of American football from Dallas