Former NFLers give back to HBCUs

HEAD COACH MONTE COLEMAN
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT PINE BLUFF
GOLDEN LIONS

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania  - When Monte Coleman speaks, people listen -- especially when he talks about what it takes to survive in the National Football League. Coleman played 16 seasons in the League -- all with the Washington Redskins, from 1979 to 1994, appearing in four Super Bowls, winning three.

As the head coach at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff since 2007, Coleman heads a growing list of former NFL players who are coaching at Historically Black Colleges, imparting their wisdom on players who have similar aspirations.

Using lessons learned from his former coach, NFL Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, Coleman led Arkansas-Pine Bluff to a 10-2 record and a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship last year.  "We play like we practice," said Coleman, who is second on the Redskins' all-time list of games played with 217 (longtime teammate Darrell Green is first). "That's something Joe Gibbs used to say. This is a phrase I use with my team pretty much every day. We're going to play like we practice on Saturday.

Coleman believes that his messages resonate with his players for one simple reason: He's been there. "There's hardly anything that ...

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