 Anderson with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 | |||||||||||||
| San Francisco 49ers | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Assistant special teams coach | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1985-10-25)October 25, 1985 (age 39) Butte, Montana, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 194 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Butte | ||||||||||||
| College: | Montana | ||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2009 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Colt Anderson (born October 25, 1985) is an American professionalfootball coach and former player who currently serves as the assistantspecial teams coach for theSan Francisco 49ers of theNational Football League (NFL). He played in the NFL as asafety andspecial teamsgunner. Anderson playedcollege football for theMontana Grizzlies and was signed by theMinnesota Vikings as anundrafted free agent in 2009. He was also a member of thePhiladelphia Eagles,Indianapolis Colts, andBuffalo Bills.
Anderson was born on October 25, 1985, inButte, Montana, to parents Mike and Michele Anderson.[1] He has three uncles that playedcollege football between theUniversity of Montana andMontana State University during the 1970s. Anderson attendedButte High School, where helettered infootball andbasketball for three years, andtrack for two years. Anderson played football as arunning back andsafety. As a junior, he was named honorable mention all-state, and as a senior in 2004, was an all-state first-team safety and honorable mention running back. The Butte High Bulldogs had an imperfect season with a record of 0–9 in Anderson's senior season.[2] Over the course of his career, Anderson recorded 310 tackles, nineinterceptions, 850 rushing yards, and 12touchdowns.[3] He was not recruited out of high school and chose to attend theUniversity of Montana.[4]
Anderson attended theUniversity of Montana, where he studiedbusiness administration.[3] Andersonwalked onto the team,[5] and sat out the 2004 season onredshirt status.[3]
In 2005, Anderson saw action in five games onspecial teams,[6] but suffered a broken thumb after making a tackle againstOregon.[4] His injury curtailed his playing time, and Anderson finished the season having recorded seven tackles.[3] During the offseason, he worked to improve his conditioning and impressed the coaching staff enough to garner ascholarship.[4]
In 2006, Andersonstarted all 14 games and recorded 92 tackles. The conference named him to the All-Big Sky first-team as both a safety and onspecial teams.[3] When asked if he looks for "big-hit opportunit[ies]", Anderson said, "I just like to fly around and make plays and every now and then you’ll come across a guy that you can hit."[6]
In 2007, Anderson started in all 14 games, tallying 85 tackles including 58 solo and seven for loss, three forcedfumbles, four interceptions, and nine pass deflections. The conference again named him to the All-Big Sky first team, whileThe Sports Network named Anderson an honorable mentionAll-American, andCollege Sporting News named him to its "Fabulous Fifty" team.[3]
In2008, Anderson served as theteam captain and saw action in all 16 games. He recorded 129 tackles including 63 solo and 6.5 for loss, onequarterback sack, three interceptions returned for 80 yards, six passes broken-up, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.[7] That season, Montana advanced to thenational championship game before falling toRichmond, 24–7. Anderson was selected as aBuck Buchanan Award candidate.[3] The conference named him an All-Big Sky player for the third year and he also received the team'smost valuable player honors.[8] Virtually every FCS All-America team selector named Anderson to its first team.[9] TheAmerican Football Coaches Association,Associated Press,[10]College Sporting News,[11] and theWalter Camp Foundation named Anderson to their first teams,[10] while the Sports Network named him an honorable mention All-American.[12] After the season, he participated in theTexas vs. the Nation all-star game.[13]
TheCBS Sports-affiliated NFL Draft Scout assessed Anderson as the 13th-ranked of the 106free safeties available for the2009 NFL draft and considered him as a potential seventh-round selection or free agent.[14] A Scout.com assessment commended Anderson's instincts and tackling, but described his size as "marginal for the NFL" and said he was more suited for zone coverage than man-to-man.[15] Anderson said, "Shoot, I'm like any other person. I'll watch the first 10 picks, or maybe the first round, and then just check on it from time to time. Any NFL fan will watch that first round. Once the second round starts, I’ll be laying around, taking a nap."[16]
Anderson was not selected in the 2009 draft, but he reported that ten teams pursued him shortly afterward. TheMinnesota Vikings signed Anderson as anundrafted free agent,[17] which included a $20,000 signing bonus, a comparatively large sum.[18] He said, "I just felt Minnesota was the best opportunity for me. They thought I could have an impact for them."[15]
Anderson spent the majority of his first two seasons on Minnesota’s practice squad.[19]
Anderson was signed to a three-year contract off of the Vikings' practice squad on November 9, 2010, by thePhiladelphia Eagles.[20][21] He played in the Eagles eight remaining games that season, starting two due to injury toNate Allen.
Anderson was considered a Pro Bowl caliber special teams player in 2011 through the first 12 games of the season, before suffering a tornanterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a game against theSeattle Seahawks, leading to his placement oninjured reserve on December 5.[22]
Anderson was placed on thephysically unable to perform list (PUP) for the start of training camp on July 22, 2012.[23] He was once again considered a standout special teams player for an otherwise mostly disappointing Eagles team,[24] earning starts at safety whenKurt Coleman was injured.[25]
Anderson's strong play on special teams continued in 2013, though he saw less snaps on defense than the previous season.
Anderson signed with theIndianapolis Colts on April 21, 2014. He was one of the only NFL players ever to have the same first name as his team.
On March 10, 2015, Anderson re-signed with the Colts.[26] On October 18 against theNew England Patriots, head coachChuck Pagano called for a fake punt on 4th and 3 late in the third quarter. The play leftGriff Whalen snapping the ball to Anderson with no Colts teammates blocking and two Patriots players standing over the ball. Anderson was tackled for a loss, and the Patriots took over on downs and scored a touchdown en route to a 34–27 victory.[27]
Anderson signed with theBuffalo Bills on April 12, 2016.[28] On October 10, 2016, he was placed on injured reserve with a hand injury.[29]
On January 27, 2017, Anderson was re-signed by the Bills.[30] He was released on September 4, but was re-signed the next day.[31][32] He was placed on injured reserve on October 3.[33] He was activated off injured reserve on December 28.[34]
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Total | Ast | Sack | FF | FR | Yds | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2010 | PHI | 8 | 2 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | PHI | 12 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 2012 | PHI | 14 | 4 | 33 | 30 | 3 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | PHI | 14 | 0 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | IND | 15 | 0 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | IND | 14 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | BUF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | BUF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 87 | 7 | 102 | 88 | 14 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
Anderson was hired by theCincinnati Bengals as an assistant special teams coach on February 10, 2020.[35]
On February 16, 2024, Anderson hired byTennessee Titans as their special teams coordinator under new head coachBrian Callahan.[36] After a disastrous season, Anderson was fired and replaced byJohn Fassel.[37]
On February 25, 2025, theSan Francisco 49ers hired Anderson to serve as the team's assistant special teams coach.[38]