Ben Coates

Ben Coates is a former football player and currently a coach. Ben Coates returned to the NFL as a coach after his retirement. He’s also recognized for being a surprise standout with downfield explosiveness. Coates was a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro. 

For nine years in the National Football League, they were in a long-term relationship (NFL).

He reportedly also played for the Baltimore Ravens, but only briefly.

Early Life, Family & Education

Ben Coates was born on August 16, 1969, in Greenwood, South Carolina.

Sadly, Coates hasn’t disclosed his parents’ names to date.

However, according to sources, his parents used to work in a cotton mill, where his mother did the third shift while his father worked the first shift.

Apparently, Ben didn’t have a glorious and fun childhood.

Unfortunately, it was rather messy and barely going alongside his seven siblings.

As explained by Coates, they were living in a three-bedroom house, where four boys, including him, shared a bedroom, and the other four girls had one room to share.

Education

Ben Coates attended Greenwood High School in southern California.

In the meantime, he found his passion for football during his senior year and started to charge into it.

By the end of his high school days, he got offers from three colleges; Savannah State, Johnson C. Smith, and Livingstone.

Therewith, Ben became the first person from his family to enroll in college.

Among the choices, he decided to devote himself to Livingstone College, located in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Furthermore, Coates was a multi-sports player featured in gridiron (North American Football), as he broke all its records.

Besides, he also indulged himself in the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity through the Untouchable Upsilon Chapter.

Altogether, Coates finished his college career with 103 receptions for 1,268 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Even though he had a glamorous career, Coates had little notice outside the CIAA, as he was from a non-notable school.

Later, in 2018, Coates was also inducted into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

Facts of Ben Coates

Net Worth & Salary

Ben Coates has an estimated net worth of $5 million. Most of Coates’s earnings are from his career as a football player.

The talented player had played a total of 17 seasons in the NFL. Not to mention, Coates also used to endorse the brand Reebok.

He has worked hard throughout his life and deserves every penny of his massive wealth.

Professional Career

Coming out of such a small school, Coates was lesser known and wasn’t taken seriously.

Additionally, his talent was dominated and overshadowed as even his college was unknown athletically.

New England Patriots

Thus, as an unknown prospect, he barely got by the 1991 NFL Draft, where he was the 124th overall pick in the fifth round.

However, his journey didn’t come smoothly after the draft, as he struggled for two years to make an impact.

To elaborate, Coates had posted ten catches for 95 yards and a two-yard touchdown in his rookie season. The next year, he maintained 20 catches for 171 yards and three touchdowns.

However, it was good that the Patriots were patient with him while everyone doubted him.

Following it, when the Patriots drafted Drew Bledsoe, he also changed into something extra.

At the same time, they also changed their coach, and it was Bill Parcells who took over the franchise as a head coach.

With their arrival, Coates made a connection as Parcells continuously used Bledsoe and Coates together. The very year, Coates exploded with 53 catches for 629 yards and eight scores.

Later, the next year, 1994, came as his breakthrough point, where he had caught 96 passes.

Additionally, he also surpassed Todd Christensen’s record for 1,174 yards receiving and appeared in his first Pro Bowl game.

Apparently, the following year, he led his team to Super Bowl XXXI, after he had 62 catches for 682 yards and nine touchdowns.

Afterward, Coastes didn’t have that spectacular performance as in 1994, but he did quite decent with the New England Patriots for the remaining seasons.

To illustrate, from 1995 to 1998, Coates never had catches less than 62; however, the year 1999 got quite messy for him.

Moreover, he had the lowest catches to date with 50.8 percent and later was released by the Patriots.

Baltimore Ravens

After nine long seasons with the Patriots, Coates moved to play for the Baltimore Ravens, where he won Super Bowl XXXV.

In addition to that, he only had a season-long journey with the Raves, and after it, he decided to retire.

Retirement and Career Statistics

After his season with Baltimore, Coates went on for retirement. As he retired, Coates was the fourth all-time leading receiver at a tight end in NFL history.

To elaborate, he was behind Ozzie Newsome, former teammate Shannon Sharpe, and Kellen Winslow.

Altogether, Coates has maintained 499 receptions for 5,555 yards and 50 touchdowns in the total of 158 games he played.

Post Retirement

Right after his retirement, Ben commenced his career as a head coach in his alma mater, Livingstone College. Following it, he also coached in NFL Europe.

Similarly, he reunited with his former coach, Bill Parcells, during his internship as an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys.

For long years, Coates was an entry-level coach, and after head coach, Romeo Crennel and his staff quit.

Coated starred as the offensive coordinator in 2009 at CSU after spending a North Carolina high school season.

Before this, he had coached in many firms like the Cleveland Browns, replacing Rob Chudzinski.

Later, in 2008, Coates was inducted into the “New England Patriots Hall of Fame.”

1998, Season of Turmoil

After a successful career and days, Coates faced a season of struggles. From his injury to cases to deaths, Coates faced all the tragedies at once.

Initially, Coates lost his sister and mother, which left him emotionally unbalanced.

As per the sources, Coates’ mother, Mozella, died of a brain tumor. Additionally, he also faced sprained right ankle in the Patriots’ season opener.

Apparently, the injury made him miss the first game of his career, and he suffered for the rest of his season.

Domestic Assualt Charges

In the meantime, Coates was later arrested on charges of assaulting the mother of one of his children.

In addition, Coates’ then-girlfriend Jennifer Marshall of Norton charged cases onto Coates for domestic assault and battery, as the story goes.

The duo actually shares a daughter named Destiny. As stated by Marshall, Coates had threatened to knock her out, and he even threw her on top of their car’s hood.

Following the incident, Marshall had sustained a scrape on her arm, later treated at a hospital.

However, Ben’s attorney, Peter Barlow, went against the evidence when the story came into the limelight.

As he shone a light on the incident, he stated how the victim threatened the football player in the days before the incident.

Additionally, the story goes like Marshall visiting Coates, and as soon as she saw him, she started to assault him.

Therefore, as a defense, Coates stood up for the act. However, as the police appeared, she was out of the scene with her car.

Altogether, Coates pleaded innocent (not guilty) to the charges, and as a result, he had to pay $1,000 cash bail.

Wife & Family

Ben Coates is a happy family man. Apparently, Ben shares a happy life with his wife, Yvette Coates, and their three daughters.

Unfortunately, Coates hasn’t revealed his wife’s information, nor has he shared any details regarding their children and family.

Thus, all we can do is hope they are having a good time by themselves.

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Social Media Presence

Sadly, Coates is not an active user of social media accounts.

However, he was seen on Instagram, and he has a fan account on Twitter, which you can go through.

His Instagram has 2.3k followers and his Twitter has 78 followers.