| Clemson Tigers | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive tackles coach and Associate head coach | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | May 29, 1980 Lyons, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 305 lb (138 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Lyons (GA) Toombs Co. | ||||||
| College: | Clemson | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2003 / Round: 4 / Pick: 114 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| As a player: | |||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com | |||||||
Nicholas Eason (born May 29, 1980) is an American football coach and former defensive end who is currently the defensive tackles coach and run game coordinator at Clemson University. He previously served as an assistant coach for the Auburn Tigers, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans, and Cleveland Browns.
Eason played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft and would play for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Broncos, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Arizona Cardinals. Eason also previously played for the Scottish Claymores. Against the Cardinals, Eason won Super Bowl XLIII with the Steelers.
Eason played college football at Clemson. He played in 47 games starting in 35 and finished his career with 153 tackles and 15 sacks. He graduated from Clemson in August 2001 with a degree in sociology and is currently working on his master's degree in Human Resource Development.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Broad jump | Bench press | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+1⁄4 in (1.91 m) |
301 lb (137 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
5.19 s | 1.81 s | 2.98 s | 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) |
29 reps | ||||
| All values from NFL Combine[1] | ||||||||||||
Eason was originally drafted in the fourth round (114th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos.[2] His first season was ended by an Achilles injury. In 2004, he was allocated to NFL Europe and played for the Scottish Claymores. On returning, he spent some time on the practice squad before being waived on September 24, 2004.
Eason was signed by the Cleveland Browns on 11 November 2004 and played in one game recording two tackles. The 2005 season was his first full season with the Browns and he played in 16 games recording 19 tackles and a career high two sacks. In 2006, Eason recorded 23 tackles from 13 games.[3]
Eason signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an unrestricted free agent on April 16, 2007. In his first season with the team, he played in all 16 games and recorded 14 tackles. In 2008, the Steelers resigned Eason to a 2-year contract.[4]
Eason was released on October 3, 2009 after the Steelers signed Isaac Redman from their practice squad, then re-signed when Redman was waived on October 5.[5] Eason was promoted to the main roster and started in place of the injured defensive end Brett Keisel. In week 17, the final game of the regular season, he had 4 tackles (including a critical tackle for a 3-yard loss on Ricky Williams) against the Dolphins.
Eason was signed by the Arizona Cardinals on July 29, 2011.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2004 | CLE | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | CLE | 16 | 0 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | CLE | 13 | 3 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | PIT | 16 | 1 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | PIT | 15 | 0 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 1.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | PIT | 8 | 5 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | PIT | 16 | 5 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | ARI | 16 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | ARI | 16 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 117 | 21 | 132 | 87 | 45 | 7.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2007 | PIT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | PIT | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | PIT | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
In 2013, Eason began his coaching career with the Cleveland Browns as their assistant defensive line coach under head coach Rob Chudzinski.
In 2014, Eason was hired by the Tennessee Titans as their defensive line coach under head Ken Whisenhunt. In 2016, he was retained under the Titans new head coach Mike Mularkey.
On February 26, 2019 Eason was hired by the Cincinnati Bengals as their defensive line coach under head coach Zac Taylor.
Eason missed the team's weeks 12 and 13 games in 2020 against the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins due to COVID-19 pandemic protocols.[6][7]
On January 27, 2021, Eason joined Auburn University as their defensive line coach under head coach Bryan Harsin, replacing Tracy Rocker.[8]
On January 7, 2022, Eason was hired by his alma mater, Clemson University, as their defensive tackles coach and run game coordinator under head coach Dabo Swinney, replacing Todd Bates.[9][10]