Ben Coates Ben Terrence Coates ( born August 16 , 1969 in Greenwood , South Carolina ) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League and former CIAA football coach and former NFL tight ends coach . Coates didn ' t play football until his senior year of high school , and was a multi - sport player at Livingstone College located in Salisbury , North Carolina . As a gridiron player at Livingstone , he broke nearly all meaningful records at the school , but due to his split - sport performances , against weak competition , for a non - notable school , he received little notice outside of the CIAA . Professional career . Considered an out - of - nowhere prospect , Coates was picked in the fifth round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots . His first two years with the Patriots were fairly uneventful ; in his rookie year he had ten catches for 95 yards and a two - yard touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts that forced overtime in a 23 - 17 Patriots win . In his second season he had twenty catches for 171 yards and three touchdowns . His career changed with the 1993 arrival of quarterback Drew Bledsoe and legendary head coach Bill Parcells to the Patriots franchise . Parcells , known for his reliance on tight ends , frequently used then - rookie quarterback Bledsoe on passes to Coates , and the tight end led the Patriots in receptions in 1993 with 53 catches for 629 yards and eight scores , two of them in New England ' s season - ending overtime win over Miami . In 1994 , his breakout year , he caught 96 passes , the most ever for a tight end to that point ( the record was broken by Tony Gonzalez in 2004 ) , for 1 , 174 yards receiving ( The only time in his career he would gain 1 , 000 yards in a receiving season ) and seven touchdowns . He appeared in his first Pro Bowl and would appear in the next four as well . In 1996 Coates had 62 catches for 682 yards and nine touchdowns ; the most dramatic was against the New York Giants in the final game of the regular season as he caught a twelve - yard pass and bulled through Giants defenders for the game - winning score of a 23 - 22 New England win . His efforts helped New England to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXXI . His team lost the game 35 - 21 , but he had a good performance in it , leading the Patriots in receiving with 6 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown . From 1995 to 1998 , he caught 84 , 62 , 66 , and 67 passes , respectively , in those 4 seasons . After the 1999 season , Coates was released by the Patriots , and afterwards played for the Baltimore Ravens , where he climbed the all - time receiving charts , winning Super Bowl XXXV in the process . When Coates was released by the Ravens in the following year , he decided to retire , having become the fourth all - time leading receiver at tight end in NFL history , behind Ozzie Newsome , former teammate Shannon Sharpe , and Kellen Winslow . Coates played in 158 games with 499 receptions for 5 , 555 yards and 50 touchdowns . After retiring , Coates returned to Livingstone College , where he was head coach , and also coached in NFL Europe . In 2004 he served an internship with the Dallas Cowboys as an assistant for the tight ends under head coach Bill Parcells . In March 2005 , Coates was named the tight ends coach for the Cleveland Browns , replacing Rob Chudzinski , under head coach Romeo Crennel who was the former defensive coordinator of Coates ' former team , the New England Patriots . It was announced on July 7 , 2008 , that Coates would be inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame .