Gregory Jerome Coleman (born September 9, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was a punter for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and Washington Redskins. He played college football for the Florida A&M Rattlers.Greg Coleman. nfl.com He was selected 398th overall in the 14th round of the 1976 NFL Draft. Coleman is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity
Coleman was the Vikings sideline reporter for KFAN, until the end of the 2021 season. He is the cousin of former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder Vince Coleman. Early in his career, he earned the nickname "Coffin Corner" because of his ability to aim his kicks near the corner of the playing field where the end zone and out-of-bounds lines meet. Due to his uncharacteristic speed (for a punter) defenses often lined up to guard against a fake punt because he was a threat to run for a first down.
He is known as being one of the few African American punters who played in the NFL, with Dave Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals being the first. Coleman was enshrined in the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2021. He was selected by the fans to be a member of the Viking 40th Anniversary team. He is a member of the Florida A&M Football Hall of Fame and is also a member of the State of Florida Track and Field Hall of Fame.
NFL career statistics Legend Led the league Bold Career high
Regular season Year Team Punting Punts 1977 CLE 14 61 2,389 1,791 58 39.2 29.4 0 23 2 1978 MIN 9 51 1,991 1,610 61 39.0 31.0 1 12 3 1979 MIN 16 90 3,551 3,017 70 39.5 33.2 1 22 9 1980 MIN 16 81 3,139 2,700 65 38.8 33.3 0 20 9 1981 MIN 15 88 3,646 3,027 73 41.4 34.4 0 17 11 1982 MIN 9 58 2,384 2,088 67 41.1 36.0 0 7 6 1983 MIN 16 91 3,780 3,323 65 41.5 36.5 0 28 8 1984 MIN 16 82 3,473 2,998 62 42.4 36.6 0 16 2 1985 MIN 16 67 2,867 2,459 62 42.8 36.7 0 12 4 1986 MIN 16 67 2,774 2,341 69 41.4 34.9 0 14 4 1987 MIN 9 45 1,786 1,403 54 39.7 30.5 1 5 3 1988 WAS 10 39 1,505 1,140 53 38.6 29.2 0 8 3 Career 162 820 33,285 27,897 73 40.6 33.9 3 184 64
Playoffs Year Team Punting Punts 1978 MIN 1 6 248 166 49 41.3 27.7 0 1 0 1980 MIN 1 5 200 179 52 40.0 35.8 0 0 0 1982 MIN 2 8 317 288 61 39.6 32.0 1 2 1 Career 4 19 765 633 61 40.3 31.7 1 3 1
References
External links KFAN Vikings Broadcast Team