- Dexter Coakley
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Dexter Coakley Position(s)
LinebackerJersey #(s)
52Born October 20, 1972
Mount Pleasant, South CarolinaCareer information Year(s) 1997–2006 NFL Draft 1997 / Round: 3 / Pick: 65 College Appalachian State Professional teams Career stats Tackles 438 Sacks 9.5 Interceptions 13 Stats at NFL.com Career highlights and awards - 3× Pro Bowl selection (1999, 2001, 2003)
- 1999 All-Iron Award Winner
- 2× Buck Buchanan Award Winner (1995, 1996)
- 2× Southern Conference Male Athlete of the Year (1995, 1996)
- 3× Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year (1994, 1995, 1996)
- Southern Conference Freshman of the Year (1993)
- Appalachian State Mountaineers #32 Retired
William Dexter Coakley (born October 20, 1972 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina) is a former American football linebacker who played 10 seasons in the National Football League. He was a third round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1997 NFL Draft, out of Division I-AA school Appalachian State. Coakley was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011 making him Appalachian State's first inductee.[1]
Contents
Early days
Coakley graduated from Wando High School, where he earned four letters in football. He was the team's Most Valuable Player twice and was twice named all-conference as a defensive back. He posted 295 tackles in his final two years. He also lettered in wrestling.
Following High School, Coakley attended Fork Union Military Academy (FUMA) as a PG before attending Appalachian State.
While at Appalachian State, he won the first two Buck Buchanan Awards, given each year to the nation's top Division I-AA defensive player. He was a critical part of the defense on the 1995 Mountaineer team that finished the season unbeaten and untied. He was also named All-American and Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore, junior and senior. He was also named the Southern Conference's Athlete of the Year as a junior and senior, marking just the seventh time in conference history that one individual had earned that distinction in consecutive years.
Coakley has received numerous accolades. Breaking the all-time solo tackles and sacks records as an Appalachian State Mountaineer, where his jersey number is retired.
Coakley earned a degree in communications and advertising.
Dallas days
Coakley dropped in the 1997 NFL Draft, because he was considered an undersized linebacker from a small college. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round.
Coakley became the Cowboys starter at weakside linebacker as a rookie and never relinquished the position.
His speed and athleticism allowed him to become a playmaker in Cowboys defenses that were built on speed and pursuit.
He was named to All-Rookie teams selected by Pro Football Weekly and Football News.
His string of seven consecutive 100-tackle seasons is the first such streak in the history of the Cowboys. In addition, he has reached double figures in tackles 37 times in 95 career regular season games.
In 1999, Coakley made 131 tackles and intercepted four passes, becoming the first Dallas linebacker to go to the Pro Bowl since Ken Norton Jr. in 1993.
He earned Pro Bowl honors in 1999, 2001 and 2003.
Coakley also received the NFL's "All Iron MVP" award during the 1999 Thanksgiving Day game.
In the 90's, the Cowboys organization felt they could find linebackers through the draft, without the need of paying a premium and adversely impacting the salary cap, so they allowed talented and productive players like Ken Norton Jr., Darrin Smith, Dixon Edwards, Robert Jones and Randall Godfrey, to leave via free agency, instead of signing them in to long-term contracts. This philosophy ended when the Cowboys re-signed Dexter Coakley to a six year contract extension in 2001.
While Coakley started all 16 games in 2004, he shared significant time with rookie linebacker Bradie James, finishing the year with a career-low 91 tackles (60 solo), ending a streak of seven consecutive 100-tackle seasons. He also had 6 quarterback pressures and 5 passes defensed.
In 2005 he was released because of salary cap considerations and because the team was switching to a 3-4 defense, that called for bigger, taller linebackers.
During his eight seasons with the Cowboys, he started all 127 of his games, and missed only one game midway through 2001 with a sprained knee.
Coakley is tied with Dennis Thurman for the club record for defensive touchdowns with five, coming on fumble (one) and interception (four) returns.
He ranks fourth in club history with 1,046 tackles.
Rams days
Just one day after being released by the Cowboys, he was signed to a five-year contract, by the St. Louis Rams for nearly double the salary he was getting in Dallas, with a signing bonus of 14 million.
Coakley was a starter in 2005, registering 42 tackles, two sacks, and one interception in 12 games for Rams before suffering a season-ending fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle.
In 2006, he finished with 37 tackles and two interceptions as a backup, starting five games in place of the injured starter Pisa Tinoisamoa.
In 2007, the Rams released Coakley.
References
- ^ Appalachian Sports Information (2011-06-30). "Coakley's HOF Enshrinement Set for July 16". GoASU. http://www.goasu.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21500&ATCLID=205177905. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
External links
Appalachian State Mountaineers football retired numbers Buck Buchanan Award winners Dallas Cowboys 1997 NFL Draft selections David LaFleur • Dexter Coakley • Steve Scifres • Kenny Wheaton • Antonio Anderson • Macey Brooks • Nicky Sualua • Lee Vaughn • Omar StoutmireCategories:- 1972 births
- American football linebackers
- American football outside linebackers
- Appalachian State Mountaineers football players
- College Football Hall of Fame inductees
- Dallas Cowboys players
- Living people
- National Conference Pro Bowl players
- St. Louis Rams players
- People from Charleston County, South Carolina
- Players of American football from South Carolina
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