Roderick Dwayne Coleman (born August 16, 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 wi ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

who played nine seasons 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 majo ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

. He was drafted by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

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 ...

, 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Early years

Coleman attended

Simon Gratz High School Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter, formerly Simon Gratz High School is a secondary school in Philadelphia, named after Simon Gratz (1840-1925), a member of the Philadelphia Board of Education. Originally a public high school operated by th ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, 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. Description ...

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 Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (form ...

team while playing for the

. 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