Cornelius Coleman joined the Duquesne staff as defensive line coach in the summer of 2020 with over 13 years of collegiate coaching experience.
Coleman comes to The Bluff most recently after serving as defensive quality control coach at Pitt, working primarily with assistant head coach Charlie Partridge and the Panthers' defensive line in 2019. During Coleman's season with Pitt, the Panthers led the country in sacks while sitting ninth in the nation tackles for loss on the year.
Prior to his time with Pitt, Coleman was the defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator at St. Vincent College in Latrobe in 2018, where he mentored a trio of all-conference defensive linemen in Cody Henry, Izaak Gray, and Tyler DiGrande. Coleman also was the co-special teams coordinator for the Bearcats.
The Washington, D.C. native previously served as defensive line coach at Robert Morris for four years, where he coached a number of All-NEC performers and tutored a defensive front which helped the Colonials rank in the top 25 nationally in several key statistical categories.
In 2015, he coached two-time All-NEC performer Forrest Mason and led a Robert Morris defensive front which tied the single-season program record with 34 sacks. Coleman and the Colonials finished the season seventh in the FCS for sacks per game and 21st in the country in total defense.
Under Coleman's tutelage in 2016, Robert Morris finished the year ranked nationally in a number of statistics including 11th in red zone defense, 14th in fumbles recovered, 16th in sacks and 17th in third down percentage defense. He mentored all-conference defensive end Ryan Lewis who posted 4.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss for the Colonials. That season, Coleman's defensive line accounted for 9.5 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss. In 2017, Coleman coached another All-NEC pick in defensive lineman Amir Fenwick.
During his tenure in Moon Township, he also worked as an athletic academic advisor.
While at RMU, Coleman joined the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff in 2017 during training camp as part of the Bill Walsh Fellowship, assisting with the defensive line for the six-time Super Bowl champions.
Before RMU, Coleman served on the coaching staff at Averett University in Danville, Va. for seven seasons in various positions.
He began his tenure with the Cougars as the defensive line coach, but quickly ascended to the position of assistant head coach. Coleman tutored 14 all-conference players during his time at Averett, while his players also earned six all-region honors, two All-America accolades and a pair of USA South Conference Player of the Year awards. In 2008, Coleman's defensive front helped the Cougars set the program's single-season sacks record while pacing the USA South in sacks per game. In 2009, Coleman led a unit which ranked sixth in the country in turnover margin, pacing the conference in that statistical category that season and again in 2010. He guided the Cougars to rank 15th nationally in tackles for loss per contest in 2011 and tutored Corey Scruggs, who set the single-season program record for sacks that year.
While at Averett, he also handled strength and conditioning, recruiting and video duties along with serving as compliance and administration liaision for the Cougars' program.
In addition, Coleman has twice been selected to participate in the NFL/NCAA Future Head Coaches Summit, first in 2012 and again in 2015, which is a unique opportunity that provides former NFL players and college coaches with tools and networking opportunities for careers as football coaches
Coleman was a four-year starter at defensive end at Waynesburg University, where he earned all-conference and honorable mention All-America honors for the Yellow Jackets in 1999, leading the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) in sacks, tackles for loss, and blocked kicks. He helped Waynesburg to its first PAC title in 1998.
Coleman then played professionally in multiple leagues, first at defensive end for the Dayton Skyhawks of the Indoor Football League in 2000, then defensive end and tight end for Roanoke Steam of the Arena Football League in 2002.
He got his start in higher education as Director of Intramural Sports and Resident Director at his alma mater Waynesburg in 2001 before working in the admissions office at Robert Morris from 2003-07. Coleman also served as an athletic compliance assistant for the Colonials from 2005-07.
Coleman earned a Bachelor of Arts in communication from Waynesburg in 1999, a Master of Business Administration in business management from Waynesburg in 2003, a Master of Science in sports management from Robert Morris in 2006 as well as a Doctorate of Education in educational leadership from Argosy University in 2014.
Coleman resides in Pittsburgh with his fiancée Erica Cooley.
