Roderick Dwayne Coleman (born August 16, 1976) 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 tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for nine seasons 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). 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 the

East Carolina Pirates The East Carolina Pirates are the sport, athletic teams that represent East Carolina University (ECU), located in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA ...

. He was selected by 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 ...

in the fifth 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 at M ...

, and has also played for the NFL's

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

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 ...

Early life

Coleman attended Simon Gratz High School in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he won

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. A person who ...

s in football and track and field and was an honor student.

College career

Coleman played for the

East Carolina Pirates football The East Carolina Pirates are a college football team that represents East Carolina University (variously "East Carolina" or "ECU"). The team is a member of the American Athletic Conference, which is in NCAA Division I, Division I Football Bowl ...

team while playing for the

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

. He is the school's career, single-season, and single-game leader in sacks.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Coleman played for the

from 1999 to 2003.

Atlanta Falcons

Coleman signed with the

for the 2004 season and played for them until 2007. On February 15, 2008, the Falcons released him.

New Orleans Saints

After sitting out the 2008 season recovering from injuries, Coleman was signed by the

to a one-year contract on March 27, 2009.Saints Agree to Contract with DT Coleman
Yahoo News, March 27, 2009 He was waived on August 31.

References

External links

New Orleans Saints bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Rod 1976 births Living people Players of American football from Mississippi Players of American football from Philadelphia American football defensive tackles National Conference Pro Bowl players East Carolina Pirates football players Oakland Raiders players Atlanta Falcons players New Orleans Saints players