He is the victim of a stupid league rule that prohibits rookies from attending more than one minicamp until after their school has completed final exams.
While most schools are on a two-semester academic calendar and are finished by early May, Ohio State is among about 15 schools that employ either a quarterly or trimester calendar and don't finish until mid-June.
Coleman was permitted to attend the Eagles' 4-day minicamp the week after the draft, but has missed all of the team's Organized Team Activities, which commenced on May 19 and will wrap up on Thursday, which just happens to be the day Ohio State is finished with finals.
"He's going to be behind, no doubt about it," Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said. "Because you can't simulate what happens out there [in practice].
"Any time you're not here, it's an added challenge from a rookie standpoint. But we've got a plan in place and we've been executing that plan with Kurt over the phone as much as we can within the guidelines of the rule. We're doing the best we can to acclimate him as well as we can under the circumstances. Then, when he gets here at the end of this week, there will be an additional plan that we'll put into practice."
Coleman has missed out on some valuable practice reps. With the move of Macho Harris to cornerback and the season-ending Achilles' injury to Marlin Jackson, the Eagles have just four safeties available - veteran Quintin Mikell, second-round rookie Nate Allen, Quintin Demps and undrafted free agent Ryan Hamilton.
Coleman is scheduled to arrive in Philadelphia on Thursday night. McDermott and or defensive backs coach Dick Jauron likely will spend several days force-feeding the defensive system to the rookie. But as McDermott correctly pointed out, it's not the same as learning it out on the field for 14 practices, which is how many Coleman will have missed.
