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This is part seven in FanHouse's nine-part series examining memorable moments and players from past Super Bowl games played in Miami. Coming next: Broncos running back Howard Griffith, Super Bowl XXXIII.SUPER BOWL XXIX
Date: Jan. 29, 1995
Site: Joe Robbie Stadium
Score: 49ers 49, Chargers 26 (MVP: Steve Young)
This is the time of year that Andre Coleman's cell phone rings. Friends and colleagues he's come to know recently see Super Bowl highlights on television, hear his name, and commence dialing.
That was you?
Yes, it was.
As a rookie kickoff return man for the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX, Coleman set a record for most return yards that stands 15 years later. Of course, the tradeoff was a 49-26 beatdown by the San Francisco 49ers, who got six touchdown passes (and no interceptions) in a near-flawless night from Steve Young.
"They had assembled one of the best teams ever, top to bottom, and we knew going in that we were going to have to do just about everything right and that they were going to have to make some mistakes," Coleman, now 37, recalled. "And even if we did do everything right, they were going to be tough to beat."
Here's how the game started:
-- 49ers: After the opening kickoff, they needed three plays to go 59 yards, with Young hitting Jerry Rice for a 44-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead.
-- Chargers: Three and out.
-- 49ers: Four plays, 79 yards, with Young hitting Ricky Watters for a 51-yard TD and 14-0 lead.
Not exactly what San Diego coach Bobby Ross probably had in mind.
Less than five minutes into the game, Coleman had returned two kickoffs. The tone was set. The rest of his day, he was a blue-and-white jack-in-the-box on the Chargers' sideline.
Eight kickoffs for 244 yards, including a 98-yard touchdown dash in the third quarter that made the score 42-18.
"For a special teams guy, there wasn't a whole lot of down time, no," said Coleman, out of Kansas State. "I had some adrenaline going, but I got a little winded there; and that's really not the way you want to get tired."
But it's an OK way to find your way into the Super Bowl record book, which still lists Coleman (with his total yards and 30.5 kickoff average that day) as the highest in the 43 championship games.
And that's cool.
Coleman is in his first year as a receivers and tight ends coach at Youngstown State, so he was busy in January with his first foray on the recruiting trails.
"It's been crazy," he said.
The new coach (and Chargers' brightest star in the franchise's only Super Bowl appearance) was asked if he had a nice blow-up shot of his championship-game touchdown hanging in his new office. What a conversation piece with prospective student-athletes, right?
Coleman thought about it.
"You know what?" he said. "I'm new at this ... and that's exactly what I'm going to do."
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