Coleman becomes Falcons secondary’s elder statesman

At 27 years of age and with just five years in the NFL, Erik Coleman is an elder statesman now. With apologies to Ernest Hemingway, a book about the Falcons safety could be titled “The Old Man and the Secondary.”

Lawyer Milloy, with his 13 years of experience, was not re-signed. He was one of five starters from last season’s team that will be replaced in 2009. That makes Coleman the oldest and most experienced player among the Falcons defensive backs. Of the 15 defensive backs currently on the Falcons’ roster, 12 have three or less seasons in the NFL. Nine of those 12 have two or fewer years in the league.

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Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@ajc.com

At 27 years of age and with just five years in the NFL, Erik Coleman is an elder statesman on the Falcons’ secondary.

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“It feels different,” Coleman said last week after an Organized Training Activities [OTA] workout. “Having guys look up to me and ask me for advice. It’s a great thing to know they respect my work that much.”

While his teammates can tease him about being the old man, they can call him two other things — leader and social director.

“He’s a veteran back there that’s played a lot of football in the NFL, so our expectations are that he’ll provide that leadership, and he’s done a good job of it so far,” Falcons defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder said. “I think that some guys grab on to the leadership characteristic when they are young. Other guys develop into it. It comes from where your confidence is in your athletic ability. The more confidence you get, the more leadership you can take on.”

Age and experience are not what made Coleman a leader for the Falcons. It’s not that simple, he says.

“I think [leadership] is something that you have to earn,” Coleman said. “Everyone can’t be a leader. Your teammates see your work ethic, how you carry yourself on and off the field. It’s a tremendous honor to be considered a leader of this team and of this secondary. I’ve been doing it the right way. I’ve been doing what the coaches ask me to do. That’s what I’m going to continue to do.”

Many within the organization describe Coleman as a “positive” leader. That’s in comparison to Milloy’s often in-your-face style.

“I think it’s my personality and the way that I am,” Coleman said. “I’m a guy that leads by example, by going out and working hard on the field. I’m a guy that can push guys, but usually in a positive way. Pat them on the butt and say ‘Let’s get it done’ instead of dogging out someone. I’m not saying that anyone necessarily did that; it’s just how I approach the game.

“I’m not saying I won’t get in someone’s face, but I would rather just pat somebody on the butt and help them out in ways for us to be constructive and for us to get better as a defense.”

The defense is an area the Falcons need to improve. They must replace five defensive starters from a team that was 24th out of 32 teams in the NFL last season in total defense, allowing 348.2 yards a game. The secondary was one major issue. They were 21st against the pass, allowing 220.4 yards a game.

Coleman considers his leadership a way to change the defense. That’s where the role of social director comes into play. Coleman has organized dinners and ventures to the mall. Next will be bowling.

“It’s important for us to jell as a group,” Coleman said. “We have a lot of young guys on the team. … We have to go out and bond with each other because we are going to spend most of our time together. You might have a wife or girlfriend at home, but you spend more hours with us. So we have to have a great chemistry, and that will translate into how we play on the field. If you have trust within each other, then you’ll play much better as a unit.”

Coleman had 95 tackles (80 solo, 15 assists) last season. It’s never good when a safety is your leading tackler. He led the Falcons in solo tackles and was second in total tackles behind Keith Brooking, another veteran that won’t be back this season.

The Falcons offense got all the attention last offseason — and most of the publicity during an 11-5 season and a playoff berth. The defense was the center of attention this offseason with seven of eight draft picks — including the first five — being defensive players.

“The offense deserves all the credit they got last year,” Coleman said. “They worked really hard. We use that as motivation. We’d like to raise our level to where people are talking about the Falcons defense.”