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Today in Patriots History
The First Pats #87 All Pro TE
The First Pats #87 All Pro TE
Happy 55th birthday to Ben Coates
Born August 16, 1969 in Greenwood, South Carolina
Patriot TE, 1991-1999; uniform #87
Pats 5th round (124th overall) selection of the 1991 draft, from Livingstone
Ben Coates did not play football until his senior year at Greenwood (SC) High School. As a result he was not recruited by any college football powerhouses, and went to nearby Division II Livingstone (enrollment: 1,200). Breaking records in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association got him an invite to the NFL combine, but those results were nothing special. It's a surprise Coates was even drafted.
Coates' first two years in Foxborough coincided with the short-lived **** MacPherson era. The former Syracuse head coach preferred a '21' offensive formation. That meant Leonard Russell at RB, Ivy Joe Hunter or John Stephens at FB, Irving Fryar and Greg McMurtry at WR, and Marv Cook as the single tight end. Cook was a major factor in that Patriot offense - an All Pro in '91, with 148 receptions over those two seasons - but the Pats rarely used a two-tight end set. Coates seldom saw any action; he had only 30 catches and four touchdown in those first two years.
After a two-win season McPherson was history. In 1993 the Pats hired Bill Parcells, who had a history of success exploiting mismatches for TE Mark Bavaro with the Giants. That same year the Pats also drafted Drew Bledsoe, who was an immense upgrade over Hugh Millen.
Parcells utilized a two-tight offense for much of that '93 season, in part to help Bledsoe with an outlet, and also to assist the offensive line with blocking. Cook played in 16 games with 12 starts, but his production dropped to 22 catches for 154 yards. Coates led the team with 53 receptions for 659 yards and eight touchdowns. He quickly became Bledsoe's security blanket as well as a fan favorite.
In 1994 Ben Coates caught 96 passes, setting a single season NFL record for most receptions by a tight end - a mark that would stand for twenty years. That season would be the first of five that Coates was named to the Pro Bowl, first of two 1st-team All-Pro selections (and first of three overall). From 1993 to 1998 Coates had 428 receptions for 4,835 yards and 44 touchdowns. He led the team in receiving touchdowns each of those six seasons, receptions five times, and receiving yards twice. Coates was arguably the number one factor in Drew Bledsoe's productivity and success.
6'5 Ben Coates was much more than just a pass catching receiver masquerading as a tight end. Much like Russ Francis before him, he was a devastating blocker in both the run game and in pass protection.
"I didn't want to just catch passes. We had guys like Shannon [Sharpe] and other people in the league that were going to be pass-catching tight ends, but [my question was], 'When are we going to start looking at the complete tight end?'"
When he retired Ben Coates ranked second in franchise history with 490 receptions (now sixth), third with 5,471 receiving yards (now sixth) and second with 50 receiving touchdowns (now third). He is a member of the Patriots All-Decade Team of the 1990s, the Pats 35th Anniversary Team, the Patriots Team of the Century in 2000, and the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1990s. When Coates retired he was the fourth all-time leading receiver among tight ends in NFL history, behind only Ozzie Newsome, Shannon Sharpe and Kellen Winslow - all of whom are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2000 Ben Coates left Foxboro and signed with Baltimore, where he won a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens in his final NFL season.
Feb 9, 2000:
The article below unveils some unfortunate bitterness in Coates' final season with the Patriots.
Pats cut Coates loose
Ben Coates could see the writing on the wall when he leafed through the Patriots' offensive playbook during minicamp last May. "I told (Patriots tackle) Bruce Armstrong at the time that I knew I wa…
www.southcoasttoday.com
Ben Coates could see the writing on the wall when he leafed through the Patriots' offensive playbook during minicamp last May.
"I told (Patriots tackle) Bruce Armstrong at the time that I knew I wasn't going to be involved in the offense," Coates said yesterday. "As soon as I saw the playbook I knew it was going to be my final year."
That prophecy was fulfilled yesterday when the Patriots released the five-time Pro Bowl tight end in what coach Bill Belichick called a salary-cap driven move.
Coates, 30, had a $3.456 million salary-cap value for the 2000 season, and the Patriots saved $2.7 million by cutting him in the final year of his contract. The money will likely be used to sign free agent safety Lawyer Milloy to a seven-year, $36 million deal as early as today.
"We are faced with some very tough decisions and unfortunately this is one of them," Belichick said. "It's a shame that in this era of salary cap constraints and value considerations, players of Ben Coates' stature often finish their careers in places other than where they established themselves."
Whatever the Patriots' motivation for cutting him, Coates said he was pleased with the timing of the move.
"Good luck to them," Coates said of his now former employers. "I thank them for doing what they did cause it gives me a chance to continue my career somewhere else. It's still early enough in the year that I'll be able to hook with another team. I know I can still play at a high level in this league. I'm not done yet. When I'm done I'll hang my shoes up."
Although Belichick said that he "respects how much Ben has given to this organization over the last decade," he did not inform Coates of the move personally. In fact, the team notified agent Michael George of the move without speaking directly to Coates.
"I've been a pretty good player for so long, but no phone call, I had to hear it from my agent," Coates said. "If that's the way they do things, it's fine with me. I want to play three or four more years. Right now, I'm a free agent. I'll go wherever."
Coates set an NFL record for receptions by a tight end in 1994, his first season as a starter, catching 96 passes for 1,174 yards. He caught 84 passes in '95 and 62 with a team-leading nine touchdowns, and kept his production up in 1997 and 1998, Pete Carroll's first two seasons as coach.
But the 1999 season was not a good one for Coates.
He caught just 16 passes in the first eight games of this season, a trend that led the typically quiet Coates to sound off.
"If this is the way they want it, what's there to say?" he said after going without a reception in a 27-3 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 31. "Just release me. Be my guest."
The complaints were not well-received considering the Patriots were 6-2 at the time. Later in the week, Coates said he was just frustrated.
Yesterday, he said he knew that the dispute -- and his decreased role in the offense -- would seal his fate in New England.
"Oh yeah. I sort of expected it last season with the ball not even going to me all of a sudden," he said. "Also, I expected it after I said what I said after the Arizona game. I knew they were going to use it against me, especially when you combine it with the that I caught only 32 balls last season. You knew they were going to start saying I wasn't the same Ben Coates."
Ben Coates was elected to the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2008. In his-post NFL life he spent some time coaching high school football, but said he was mostly 'enjoying being a dad to his three kids after missing out on their early years because of his playing career'. Later, Ben Coates returned to his alma mater to become a tight ends coach for the Livingstone College Blue Bears - where his son, Ben Coates III is now a tight end and defensive end.
Ben Coates' Son Drops Truth Bomb On Following In Dad's Footsteps At Livingstone
Ben Coates III speaks on following in his dad's footsteps after transferring to HBCU Livingstone, where his father was a star tight end
clutchpoints.com
There's a good Q&A from Mike Reiss with Ben Coates from 2018, when Gronk was about to eclipse Coate's franchise record for receptions by a tight end:
Ben Coates appreciates complete work of Rob Gronkowski
As Gronk approaches his record for regular-season catches by a Patriots tight end, Ben Coates is just happy to see that No. 87 is still going strong.
www.espn.com
For more on Ben Coates, check out these links below:
TE Coates elected to Patriots' Hall of Fame
FOXBORO - Tight end Ben Coates is the newest member of the New England Patriots Hall of Fame.
www.thesunchronicle.com
Ben Coates | The Patriots Hall of Fame
www.patriotshalloffame.com
Ben Coates elected to Patriots Hall of Fame | Patriots.com
July 2, 2018:
New England Patriots: The great Rob Gronkowski-Ben Coates debate
Before the dominance of Rob Gronkowski at the tight end position, the New England Patriots enjoyed the playmaking ability of Ben Coates at the position.
chowderandchampions.com
Aug 6, 2018:
New England Patriots of the Past: Ben Coates
Ben Coates' football career almost never got off the ground. Luckily for everyone, the New England Patriots took a chance on the little-known tight end.
lastwordonsports.com
April 5, 2019:
Ben Coates was Gronk before Gronk so he knows better than most where his TE counterpart fits in NFL history | Ron Borges, Talk of Fame Two
Ben Coates - SC Football Hall of Fame | Become a life changer for our youth!
Ben Terrence Coates, Jr. was born in 1969 in Greenwood, SC and attended Greenwood High School. He did not play football until his senior year at Greenwood and went on […]
scfootballhof.org
Ben Terrence Coates, Jr. was born in 1969 in Greenwood, SC and attended Greenwood High School. He did not play football until his senior year at Greenwood and went on to be a multi-sport athlete at Livingstone College. He finished his college career with 103 receptions for 1,268 yards and 18 touchdowns. In 2018, he was inducted into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
Coates was picked in the fifth round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He played a total of 10 seasons in the NFL, nine with the patriots and his last season with the Ravens. In his time in the NFL, he had 499 receptions, 5,555 receiving yards, and 50 touchdowns. He also made an appearance in Super Bowl XXXI with the Patriots. After being released by the Patriots, Coates signed with the Ravens in 2000 and was part of the team that won Super Bowl XXXV. Coates was named to the second NFL 1990s All-Decade Team in 2000 and inducted to the New England Patriots Hall of Fame in 2008.
After retiring, Coates returned to Livingstone College, where he was head coach, and also coached in NFL Europe. In 2004, he served an internship with the Dallas Cowboys as an assistant for the tight ends. In 2005, Coates was named the tight ends coach for the Cleveland Browns.
Ben Coates (2018) - CIAA Hall of Fame Members - Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Ben Coates, Class: Induction: 2018 Sport(s): Football - Ben Coates was a three-year football letterman at Livingstone College where he amassed 103 receptions for
theciaa.com
Ben Coates earned a scholarship at small D-II Livingstone College, a historically black Christian school in Salisbury, NC. Excelling in track, he became the team’s Most Improved Player as a sophomore. Ben Coates promptly picked up where he left off on the high school gridiron. Coates’s excellence earned him Livingstone College’s MVP honors in 1987, 1988, and 1990. He played basketball in 1989 before returning to the gridiron a season later. Coates came back with a vengeance for his senior season racking up 36 receptions for 504 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 1990. He became a First-Team All-CIAA selection and a Black College Sports All-American the same year. Most NFL recruiters were unaware of this amazing talent who from small-town Greenwood, South Carolina. Most teams thought his less-than-ideal size and competition at the collegiate level would hurt his draft stock in the NFL. Ben Coates proved them wrong once he set foot on the pro gridiron.
