Seahawks bring back past nickel extraordinaire Justin Coleman to join their new defense
The Seahawks are promising more man coverage with their remade defense.
So it makes sense they are bringing back one of the better matchup cover men they’ve had in the last decade.
Seattle’s typical signings in the later waves of NFL free agency continued with the return of Justin Coleman. The nickel defensive back extraordinaire in his first stint with the team from 2017-18 received a one-year contract.
The Seahawks announced the deal in a team release Thursday.
“I’m very familiar with the people around here, the organization, the culture,” Coleman said in the Seahawks’ news release. “I’ve been here, so I know what this organization expects and what they ask out of me. Pete Carroll, I feel like is one of the greatest coaches.
“And I just missed this place. I missed the energy that this place brings, I missed the fans, missed the players, missed the coaches, everybody.
“I’m just ready to get going.”
Coleman, who turns 29 Sunday, will be going into a new Seahawks defense for 2022. Carroll has promoted line coach Clint Hurtt to defensive coordinator, to get more pass rush from more varied, 3-4 looks than Carroll’s 4-3 scheme that’s been the base of Seattle’s defenses since 2010. Carroll hired former Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai and former Minnesota Vikings secondary coach Karl Scott.
Newly re-signed cornerback Sidney Jones and re-signed safety Quandre Diggs said this week Hurtt, Desai and Scott are set to use more man-to-man coverage and varied looks against the pass than the Seahawks have typically done in recent seasons.
That means more match-up coverage, depending on the opponents’ receivers and situations.
Coleman was a big-play cornerback for the team in the 2017-18. John Schneider trading a seventh-round pick to acquire Coleman, a former undrafted free agent, from the New England Patriots days in September 2017 was perhaps the general manager’s shrewdest move of a season which ended with the Seahawks out of the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
Coleman beat out Jeremy Lane for the nickel job. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns during the 2017 season, including one at Dallas on Christmas Eve. Coleman celebrated that play by leaping into an oversized Salavation Army donation kettle prop behind the end zone.
A couple months later, Coleman donated the jersey he wore when he scored and did his kettle leap in Dallas to...the Salavation Army.
What began as a challenge by Richard Sherman, then Coleman’s Seahawks teammate, to come up with a celebration for his big plays became Coleman months later visiting The Salvation Army’s community center in White Center, a couple miles south of Lumen Field. He visited with the approximately 40 kids in the charitable organization’s after-school program that includes tutoring on homework. He played basketball with them that day in 2018. He autographed pictures.
And he autographed the game jersey he wore during that interception return, touchdown and kettle leap at Dallas.
“It’s the least I can do,” Coleman said on the day of his visit in White Center four years ago. “Jumping in the kettle in December felt like the right thing to do, and using that jersey and moment to help those in need also feels like the right thing to do. I hope the auction raises enough to make a big difference to a lot of people.”
Coleman thrived as an inside, cornerback matched against slot receivers in that first go-round with Seattle. The Seahawks had nickel as their base defense in Coleman’s two season with them; they so trusted Colemand they were in nickel defense 60 and 68% of the time in 2017 and ‘18.
He was so good at the job, he left the Seahawks before the 2019 season to sign a $36 million, four-year contract with Detroit. That at the time was a record deal for an NFL nickel defensive back.
Coleman lasted only two seasons with the Lions before they released him. He signed a one-year deal worth $2.25 million with Miami for 2021. He played just 35% of defensive snaps for the Dolphins, who played younger Nik Needham more in the nickel spot.
Bears special-teamer signs
The Seahawks also announced they signed former Chicago Bears linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe. He got a one-year deal Pro Football Focus’ Doug Kyed said is worth $1,187,500.
That’s the league minimum for a four-year veteran for 2022 per the NFL collective bargaining agreement, plus a $152,500 signing bonus.
Iyiegbuniwe was primarily a special-teams player with the Bears. Through he played only 49 defensive snaps in four seasons with Chicago, he knows Desai and the varied, coach Vic Fangio-style 3-4 looks Seattle is going to.
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 12:49 PM.
