Tevin Coleman’s kick return cameo was years in the making

When Jeff Ulbrich and Tevin Coleman were together in Atlanta, the coach would constantly pester the running back.

“Why aren’t you returning kicks?” Ulbrich would ask. “You’d be a Pro Bowl kick returner.”

Coleman shrugged the idea off, though. He never filled that special teams role during his four seasons with the Falcons. He moved on to the 49ers; the idea never occurred to them during Coleman’s two seasons by The Bay.

But when Coleman joined the Jets this past offseason, he was reunited with Ulbrich and Robert Saleh, who was with him in San Francisco. Ulbrich began pushing his theory on Saleh and special teams coach Brant Boyer. Once again, the idea was presented to Coleman.

Finally, he caved.

“I said, ‘Teco, why don’t you just go back there, man?'” Saleh said Friday, recounting the years-long effort to convince Coleman. “He went back there during practice, fielded a couple kicks, looked natural.”

Coleman continued to look comfortable in the Jets’ Week 5 loss to the Falcons. With New York playing in London, the 28-year-old returned the first two kicks of his seven-year NFL career. He totaled 92 return yards with a long of 65.

It was his first time returning kicks since his sophomore year of college at Indiana. That was in 2013.

“Credit to Teco,” Saleh said. “It shows that no matter how late you are in your career, it’s never too late to put another tool in your toolbox.”

Coleman’s main responsibility is to rush out of New York’s backfield, though the veteran has not received a ton of carries while the Jets focus on younger backs like Michael Carter and Ty Johnson. Coleman has only rushed 21 times for 73 yards over four games this season.

Returning kicks will give him more opportunities to contribute. Braxton Berrios has been the team’s go-to return man, and Johnson has fielded a few kicks as well. But Saleh said “the more the merrier” when asked if Coleman will remain part of new York’s kick return contingent moving forward.

Coleman (hamstring) was a late addition to New York’s injury report on Friday and is questionable for Week 7 against the Patriots, but he should expect more return chances whenever he gets back on the field.

“Those opportunities to stack those up will definitely keep coming,” Saleh said.

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