August 22, 2017

Thaddeus Coleman doesn’t mind flying under the radar

The Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Montreal Alouettes in CFL action on June 22th, 2017 at Molson Percival Stadium in Montreal, QB. Liam Richards/Electric Umbrella

Peter Dyakowski doesn’t buy the notion that Thaddeus Coleman is an unsung hero for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“He’s a relatively sung hero,” a smiling Dyakowski, the Roughriders’ right guard, said of the man who lines up at right tackle.

Coleman has played 25 straight games on the Roughriders’ offensive line. He appeared in all 18 games last season – splitting time between right and left tackle — and has lined up at right tackle for the first seven games of the 2017 campaign.

But the 32-year-old product of Waukegan, Ill., has done it all relatively quietly, especially with colourful personalities like Dyakowski and Derek Dennis around to carry the conversation.

“I’ve been that way my whole career,” said Coleman, a product of Mississippi Valley State University. “Even in college when I was The Man, I was always the guy who was quiet and did my job. I just worked hard and let all the other guys have all the fame.

“I’m not a big-personality guy who likes to talk to the media. I like to do my job and have fun playing ball. Keep it simple, man. Keep it simple.”

Roughriders quarterback Kevin Glenn described the 6-foot-8, 320-pound Coleman as “a silent giant” who doesn’t say much of anything on the field or in the locker room.

Other Roughriders are in the public eye more than him, but Glenn knows that Coleman is fine with that.

“That’s his persona; that’s how he goes about things,” Glenn said. “That’s him off the field, but I don’t think he’s that type of guy to even be in that atmosphere. You can tell a lot about guys from their Twitter accounts and typically their Twitter accounts are how they are on the field or in the locker room.

“Other guys are a little bit more outspoken, outgoing and talkative (than Coleman) so he’s not trying to fight for a voice in the huddle. He listens and when he does have something to say, he says it … And when he does speak, you know it’s time to listen to him.”

After college, Coleman embarked on a pro career that could best be described as nomadic.

He had stops in the NFL (with the Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets), the Arena Football League (with the Chicago Rush, Virginia Destroyers, Orlando Predators and New Orleans VooDoo) and the CFL (with the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers).

His CFL career took off in 2013 with the Eskimos and he spent the next two seasons with them as well, sharing in their Grey Cup victory in 2015.

Head coach Chris Jones left Edmonton for Saskatchewan in December of 2015 and, in May, he sent the rights to two negotiation-list players to the Eskimos for Coleman.

The tackle was the only lineman to appear in all 18 regular-season games with the Roughriders in 2016 and subsequently was voted the team’s nominee for the CFL award as top O-lineman.

Coleman played 14 games at right tackle before moving to left tackle for the final four games of the regular season. The move was made after Xavier Fulton was traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Coleman re-signed with Saskatchewan in February after becoming a free agent. This season, he has lined up only at right tackle while Dennis and Bruce Campbell have handled things at left tackle.

All the while, Coleman has done his job without the glare of the spotlight.

“Coaches around the league don’t need to see you in the media,” said Coleman, who’ll man the right side again Friday when the Roughriders visit Edmonton. “If you’re not in the media and you’re doing your job, that’s a good look for you as a professional football player — as a professional athlete, period.

“As long as I can do that and people around the league see that I’m doing my job and keeping it quiet, keeping it low key, I’m happy with that. As long as coaches can see that you’re doing your job at a high level, you can always keep your job.”

In Dyakowski’s mind, Coleman operates under the radar only when it comes to the media and the fans.

“The other players in the league know,” said Dyakowski, who’s in his first season with Saskatchewan. “I don’t get to watch our TV copy so I don’t know what is said on the broadcast, but if they’re not talking about him, they should be.

“He’s a great pro. I really like playing next to him because I have a terrific level of trust with him. Maybe he’s not as loud as some guys, but he’s somebody you can rely on to be where he’s supposed to be.”

Coleman has been penalized only twice through Saskatchewan’s first seven games — once for holding and once for illegal procedure — and he has done his part in keeping Glenn upright.

And while the tackle noted he has tried to become more of a vocal leader this season, his priority remains doing his job. He’ll have his hands full Friday against Eskimos defensive ends Odell Willis and John Chick.

“All the years practising against Odell made me better as a professional football player,” said Coleman, who played with Willis for three seasons in Edmonton. “Coming up from the States, you think it’ll be a drop-off (in talent), but going against one of the better guys in all of football was always a good thing.

“Playing against Chick, you’ve got to come with your hardhat every day. Out of all the defensive ends in the league, I respect him the most because he’s going to work hard and he doesn’t take any plays off, run or pass.

“We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us.”