American football player and coach (born 1973)
American football player
Nathaniel Donnell Abraham (born October 8, 1973) is an American football coach and former cornerback who is the current defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL) . He was selected in the third round of the 1996 NFL draft .[ 1] In his career, he played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996–2001) and the New York Jets (2002–2004).
NFL career statistics
Legend
Led the league
Bold
Career high
Regular season
Year
Team
Games
Tackles
Interceptions
Fumbles
GP
GS
Comb
Solo
Ast
Sck
Int
Yds
TD
Lng
FF
FR
Yds
TD
1996
TAM
16
12
58
50
8
0.0
5
27
0
21
0
2
3
0
1997
TAM
16
16
54
44
10
0.0
5
16
0
16
0
1
2
0
1998
TAM
13
13
38
32
6
0.0
1
3
0
3
0
2
0
0
1999
TAM
16
16
79
65
14
2.0
7
115
2
55
1
0
0
0
2000
TAM
16
16
57
46
11
0.0
7
82
0
23
1
0
0
0
2001
TAM
15
5
39
29
10
0.0
6
98
0
46
0
1
0
0
2002
NYJ
16
16
53
47
6
0.0
4
49
0
23
0
0
0
0
2003
NYJ
8
2
11
11
0
0.0
1
12
0
12
0
0
0
0
2004
NYJ
16
16
53
38
15
0.0
2
66
1
66
0
2
39
1
132
112
442
362
80
2.0
38
468
3
66
2
8
44
1
Playoffs
Year
Team
Games
Tackles
Interceptions
Fumbles
GP
GS
Comb
Solo
Ast
Sck
Int
Yds
TD
Lng
FF
FR
Yds
TD
1997
TAM
2
2
5
5
0
0.0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1999
TAM
2
2
8
7
1
0.0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2000
TAM
1
1
3
2
1
0.0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2001
TAM
1
1
4
4
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2002
NYJ
2
2
2
2
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2004
NYJ
2
2
6
6
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
10
10
28
26
2
0.0
3
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
After considering retirement since the 2004 season ended, he finally decided to do so on July 15, 2005.[ 2] Although he had two restaurant businesses going in South Carolina, Abrahams was searching for a post-playing occupation, and during his playing years he swore to himself that he would never become a coach. However, while on the sidelines of his oldest son's youth football practice, a local high school coach, whose son played on the same team as Abraham's, approached him about helping out his team. Before long, Abraham became the head coach at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg.[ 3]
Abraham guided Gibbs to its first district title in 2009 but resigned after a 3–7 season in 2010. He was defensive backs coordinator (2011–2012) at Tampa Bay Storm and later (2012) at East Lake High School . In 2013, he was the head coach of the Clearwater High School football team and resigned in 2015.[ 4] He was (2015–2017) the defensive coordinator at IMG Academy , in Bradenton , Florida.[ 5] On February 15, 2017, he was named defensive assistant coach for the Illinois Fighting Illini football , joining Head Coach Lovie Smith 's coaching team.[ 6] [ 7] Abraham left the Illinois program in the summer of 2018.
In November 2018, Abraham joined Steve Spurrier 's Orlando Apollos coaching staff as defensive backs coach.[ 8]
In June 2022, Abraham joined Anthony Becht 's coaching staff as the Defensive Coordinator of St. Louis.[ 9]
Personal life
Abraham's son, Micah , played college football at Marshall and was selected in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts .[ 10]
References
^ "1996 NFL Draft Listing" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved March 30, 2023 .
^ "Jets CB Abraham decides to retire" . National Football League . Hempstead , New York. July 15, 2005. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2011 .
^ "Life After Football: Donnie Abraham" . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Retrieved August 9, 2017 .
^ "Coaches" .
^ "Football Academy - Football Program | IMG Academy" .
^ "NFL veteran Donnie Abraham joins Illinois' coaching staff" . Chicago Tribune . Associated Press. February 16, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2024 .
^ "Q&A with ex-Bucs CB Donnie Abraham, now coaching at Illinois" . Tampa Bay Times . Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017 .
^ Ruiz, Stephen (November 8, 2018). "Steve Spurrier's first staff with Apollos includes Super Bowl champions, former Gators" . Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved January 7, 2019 .
^ "XFL Announces Key Football Hires and Coaching Staff for its Eight Teams" . www.xfl.com . Retrieved July 28, 2022 .
^ Schultheis, Luke (April 27, 2024). "Colts select Marshall DB Micah Abraham with 201st pick in 6th round during 2024 NFL Draft" . Stampede Blue . Retrieved December 17, 2024 .
1940: Hutson , Parker & Ryan
1941: Goldberg & A. Jones
1942: B. Turner
1943: Baugh
1944: Livingston
1945: Zimmerman
1946: Dudley
1947: Reagan & Seno
1948: Sandifer
1949: Nussbaumer
1950: Sanders
1951: Schnellbacher
1952: Lane
1953: Christiansen
1954: Lane
1955: W. Sherman
1956: Crow
1957: Butler , Christiansen & Davis
1958: Patton
1959: Davis , Derby & Shinnick
1960: Baker & Norton
1961: Lynch
1962: Wood
1963: Lynch & Taylor
1964: Krause
1965: Boyd
1966: Wilson
1967: Barney & Whitsell
1968: W. Williams
1969: Renfro
1970: J. Robinson
1971: Bradley
1972: Bradley
1973: Anderson & Wagner
1974: E. Thomas
1975: Blount
1976: Jackson
1977: Blackwood
1978: Darden
1979: Reinfeldt
1980: Hayes
1981: Walls
1982: Walls
1983: Murphy
1984: Easley
1985: Walls
1986: Lott
1987: Wilburn
1988: Case
1989: Wright
1990: Carrier
1991: Lott
1992: H. Jones & McMillian
1993: Odomes & E. Robinson
1994: E. Turner & A. Williams
1995: O. Thomas
1996: Braxton & Lyle
1997: McNeil
1998: Law
1999: Abraham , Hasty , Madison , Vincent & R. Woodson
2000: Sharper
2001: Barber & Henry
2002: Kelly & R. Woodson
2003: Parrish & Russell
2004: Reed
2005: Law & O'Neal
2006: Bailey & Samuel
2007: Cromartie
2008: Reed
2009: Byrd , Samuel , Sharper & C. Woodson
2010: Reed
2011: Arrington , Weddle & C. Woodson
2012: Jennings
2013: R. Sherman
2014: Quin
2015: Nelson & Peters
2016: Hayward
2017: Byard & Slay
2018: Fuller , Howard & Kazee
2019: Gilmore , Harris & White
2020: Howard
2021: Diggs
2022: Fitzpatrick , Gardner-Johnson , Simmons & Woolen
2023: Bland
2024: Joseph