Monte Coleman obit

Monte Coleman, former UAPB coach and Washington NFL great, dies at 68

 He was not on the list.

Monte Coleman, a Pine Bluff native who went from not playing football in high school to becoming a steady presence in Washington’s NFL franchise as a linebacker for 16 years, has died. He was 68.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff announced Coleman’s death Sunday afternoon. Coleman was UAPB’s head football coach from 2008-17, leading the Golden Lions to the Southwest Athletic Conference championship and Boxtorow HBCU Division I coaches’ national championship in 2012.

A cause of death was not announced.

“Coach Coleman represented everything we strive for at UAPB — excellence, integrity and a relentless commitment to developing our student-athletes,” UAPB Athletic Director Chris Robinson said in a news release. “His legacy is not only written in championships and honors, but in the lives he changed every single day.”

Coleman enrolled at the University of Central Arkansas, where his brother Sam played, after graduating from Pine Bluff High School in 1975. He started as a safety, helping the Bears reach the 1976 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship game, and converted to linebacker by his senior season, when he set a then-school record with 22 interceptions.

The Washington Redskins (now Commanders) took note of Coleman’s emergence at his new position and picked him in the 11th round of the 1979 NFL draft, which had 12 rounds at the time. He went on to play 16 seasons with the franchise, winning Super Bowls in the 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons. He played in another Super Bowl in the 1983 season.

Coleman totaled 1,002 tackles (999 solo), 49.5 sacks, 17 interceptions (three returned for touchdowns) and 13 forced fumbles in 215 games at Washington. Only Darrell Green has played in more games with the franchise.

Broadcasting great John Madden named Coleman to his “All-Madden Team” in the 1993 season. He is inducted in the Commanders’ Ring of Fame.

Coleman moved to Pine Bluff years later, joining Lee Hardman’s staff as an assistant in the early 2000s and staying on staff when Mo Forte succeeded Hardman in 2004. They helped the Golden Lions reach their first SWAC championship game in 2006, a loss to Alabama A&M University.

Coleman was promoted to head coach when Forte was fired in 2007. His first team at the helm posted a 3-9 record, but the 2009 and 2010 teams each won five games, setting an upward trend that led to Coleman’s first winning season (6-5) in 2011 and the 10-2, SWAC championship run in 2012. He posted a 40-71 overall record (27-57 in SWAC play) at UAPB.

He served in later years as the executive director of SOAR, Students of Achievement and Responsibility, and as an assistant pastor at a local church.

A petition for Coleman to be considered for entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was recently established at Change.org. Michael McCray, public relations and cultural development specialist with the Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission, announced the petition Saturday during the Jefferson County Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet. Coleman is among six original inductees of the Hall known as the All-Time Greats, all of whom were honored last year.

Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date, UAPB said.