Sammie Coates Kaitlyn Crawford interview on Columbia's 101-game skid

In the Sammie Coates Kaitlyn Crawford interview, the Columbia High School football coach described helping his players end a 101-game losing streak against Greensboro. The former Auburn University player and Pittsburgh Steelers draft pick also told Crawford what Mike Tomlin’s draft-night call meant to him, why the National Football League’s business pressures surprised him, and what he wants young athletes to learn from setbacks.

What did Sammie Coates remember about being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Sammie Coates remembered the Pittsburgh Steelers drafting him in the third round as a childhood ambition becoming real. He was in Auburn on a Friday night, waiting for news, when Mike Tomlin called. Coates said making the National Football League changed his life and gave him an achievement no one could take away.

Mike Tomlin’s call in Auburn

Coates recalled Tomlin telling him that the Steelers had drafted him. The moment stayed vivid for him because he had imagined reaching a major professional league since childhood. He said he had dreamed of playing in either Major League Baseball or the NFL.

Looking back on his path from Auburn University to the 2015 NFL Draft, Coates placed particular weight on hearing his name called. He described the draft as a personal milestone that would remain part of his life regardless of what happened afterward.

What did Sammie Coates say about the NFL business side?

Sammie Coates said NFL players must treat their careers like businesses because teams can replace them quickly. He believes fans see the money more readily than the financial uncertainty and mental strain players and their families face. That perspective is one of the lessons he now brings to coaching.

Pay during and after the season

Coates said that, in his experience, players received their regular pay while games were being played rather than throughout the offseason. Once a season ended, he said, a player could wait until the following September for another regular check. He cautioned that players who are not stars may earn less than fans assume.

The pressure of an uncertain roster spot

Money was only part of his point. Coates said a player could be with one team on Monday and another on Tuesday, creating stress for both the player and his family. He wants his athletes to understand that professional football demands attention to life beyond game day, not just performance on the field.

Why did Sammie Coates become a football coach?

Sammie Coates became a coach because football had structured his life since he was eight years old, and other work did not feel the same. After spending time around coaches he admired, he found it difficult to leave the routines of practices and games behind. Coaching kept him connected to the sport.

He said he tried other things but missed being around football, including the preparation before games and the conversations afterward. Those habits had shaped his weeks for so long that a complete change of career felt unnatural to him.

Coates described coaching as a continuation of a life in the game, rather than a sudden new interest after his playing career. At 33, he said he still could not see himself doing anything that took him away from football.

How did Sammie Coates help Columbia High School end its 101-game losing streak?

Sammie Coates said Columbia High School’s 41–14 win over Greensboro in August meant that his players could finally experience winning after 101 consecutive losses. He credited a larger roster and a more experienced coaching staff as parts of the program’s change. For him, the players’ reaction mattered more than his own record.

Building Columbia’s roster and staff

When Coates arrived, he said, the team had about 25 or 26 players, a number he considered far too small for a 6A school in Alabama. He also faced changes he could not make alone. Over the next year or two, the program assembled a staff that included three or four coaches with more than 20 years of coaching experience each.

Participation grew to roughly 55 to 60 players, according to Coates. He viewed that growth as part of the work behind the result, rather than treating the Greensboro game as a turnaround that happened on its own.

What the Greensboro win meant to the players

Going into the game, the team knew the 101-game streak was something it wanted to put behind it. Coates said he was struck by how happy the players were when it ended. He described a visible change in the team’s culture and said the moment gave the players a feeling they had gone without for years.

Coates put his priority this way:

I didn't care about me and the record. It's more for the kids to get to feel what winners feel like.

What does Sammie Coates want young athletes to learn from his program?

Sammie Coates wants his players to take lessons from football that apply beyond winning games: being on time, managing time, accepting responsibility and working toward a goal. He said his program emphasizes sacrifice and steady effort because he wants athletes to learn how to pursue ambitions both inside and outside the sport.

Coates listed playing Division I football or reaching the NFL among the dreams athletes might pursue. He also spoke about careers such as medicine and law to make clear that his message was not limited to football. In his view, sport gives young people a place to practice committing themselves to something they want.

He tells his players to set goals and take steps toward them every day. His emphasis is on the habits behind an ambition: showing up, continuing to work and making sacrifices, whatever the eventual goal may be.

What advice did Sammie Coates give aspiring NFL players facing setbacks?

Sammie Coates told young athletes facing setbacks to expect adversity and keep working through it. He said the mental side of pursuing college or professional football matters because progress can involve repeated failures. His advice comes from his own experience of having about eight surgeries without abandoning his next goal.

He described failure as part of growth, not proof that an athlete’s path is over. When challenges interrupted his plans, Coates said he kept working and trusted the process rather than letting a setback decide what he would try next.

For athletes who still want to play at a higher level, his message was to find a way forward without giving up. He compared that determination to finding food when hungry: a strong enough need should prompt action, even when the route is difficult.

Who is Sammie Coates?

Sammie Coates is the head football coach at Columbia High School. He attended Auburn University and was a 2015 NFL Draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers.