After not acquiring a cornerback during the 2002 NFL Draft, the Jets were able to fill the needed position a day later thanks in large part to Head Coach Herm Edwards' past.
Before coming to New York, he had coached the defensive backs in Tampa Bay where he tutored Pro Bowl cornerback and seventh-year veteran free agent Donnie Abraham.
"Herm was a big factor in me signing with the Jets. Of course, we had a relationship together and everything, but I was literally hours from signing with the Detroit Lions," Abraham said. "And then Herm and New York came through. They told me that they could get it done, and so I decided to go with them.
"Nothing was really laid out as far as, hey, you're going to be this or that. But Herm already knew what to expect when I came in there and I just knew playing for a guy like Herm as the head coach would be pretty good for me."
A cornerstone of the Tampa 2 defense, Abraham had put together a pretty good resumé in his six seasons with the Buccaneers – 31 interceptions, including a league-leading seven in 1999. Nicknamed "The Iceman," he cometh to New York as a proven leader.
"It was a mixture of young guys and older guys because (seventh-year veteran cornerback) Aaron Beasley was also brought in the same year," Abraham said. "(Cornerback) Ray Mickens was a veteran there. Mo Lewis was one of the linebackers and Marvin Jones was the other linebacker. And so they had some veteran presence there already and some young guys with (defensive ends) John Abraham and Shaun Ellis. It was an easy transition."
Leading the Jets with four interceptions helped make the transition easier and also helped them reach the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The following season, however, New York struggled with a 6-10 record and Abraham struggled with a fractured shoulder, which occurred in Week 2 against Miami and sidelined him for eight weeks.
"It happened on a quarterback scramble in the end zone at the goal line. And I caught a lot of grief that a quarterback [Jay Fiedler] broke my shoulder," Abraham laughed. "But it was just one of those freak accidents. The doctors told me where my shoulder broke, they've never seen it broken there in the 30 years they've been in sports medicine.
"And I was a night away from surgery when the doctor called and said, 'You know what, I think we're just going to leave it alone and let it heal on its own.' I was so thankful for that because surgeries are risky. But it would have only been like a two-week difference between them fixing it and putting screws in and letting it heal on its own. And the fact that they've never seen it broken there, there's a lot of things they would have to go through."
With the Jets for three seasons, Abraham collected seven interceptions, including one against Miami in 2004 off of Fiedler which he returned 66 yards for a touchdown and payback for the shoulder injury the year before.
Among his other fondest memories…
"You can go back and look at that big snow game we had against the Steelers in 2003, which was very fun to play in. You can look at the Indianapolis (2002 Wild Card) playoff game we had, where we shut Peyton Manning down, 41-nothing. Those are great memory games and are two that probably stick out the most," Abraham said.
"And, of course, the team, being around your teammates. It was a great group of guys. Wayne Chrebet, Curtis Martin, Kevin Mawae on the offensive side of the ball. And defensively, the whole DB room, the D-line guys. I mean, there were great guys there. I really loved my time in New York."
Retiring in 2005 having played in 132 regular-season games with 112 starts, Abraham had 38 career interceptions, three returned for touchdowns, and 442 tackles with 362 solo stops. What makes him most proud of his playing career?
"I think the consistency is what I'm most proud of. I was able to be consistent for my nine years in the league. I was able to be available; other than the year I broke my shoulder," Abraham laughed. "I was able to be a true professional in the sport, was able to carry myself the right way, represented my name. Didn't embarrass my family, didn't embarrass myself.
"One thing with Herm, he always preached from our time in Tampa, 'Nobody's going to remember you when you're gone. But what they will remember is what you put in stone, that's records you break, that's Pro Bowls you're in, interceptions and things like that that you can put in the record book. Those things stay forever.' So I am proud that I was able to do things like that.
"And stat-wise, I was able to put a pretty solid career together. I guess if I was more flamboyant or outgoing, if I played a couple more years, I may have had a shot of being in the Hall of Fame. If you take my stats and put them on somebody who's more prominent, he's probably a sure-fire Hall of Famer.
"That I was able to do that coming from a small town in South Carolina, a small college in East Tennessee State, and being a consistent, reliable, a very good player, those are things I'm proud of when you look back at it."
When Abraham was playing, he said that he'd never want to be a coach. Well, some things change. What began as watching his sons' youth football practices and games led to him becoming a high school volunteer assistant coach.
"So I started volunteering, helping at the high school and the passion just kind of kept growing from there," Abraham said. "And I'm like, 'I really like this. You're developing, you're helping, you're teaching.' You see how he runs the program and you start going through your head, 'I would do this differently. And the only way I can truly put my stamp on a team is I've got to be a high school head coach.' And so I started pursuing that and became a high school head coach in St Pete [St. Petersburg, Florida]."
Abraham went on to coach at other Florida high schools including the IMG Academy, the University of Illinois, the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football, and with the Arena League's Tampa Bay Storm.
In 2023, he joined former Jets tight end Anthony Becht's staff as the defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Battlehawks in the revived XFL. And last month, he was named to the same position on Becht's staff with the UFL's Orlando Storm.
What makes him most proud of his coaching career?
"I think the fact that I went through this coaching career and it kind of went as I planned it to go. I've been able to enjoy my kids and their events and still be able to get experience coaching with different places," said Abraham, who given his track record – could and some may say should – someday soon very well be coaching in the NFL or major college football.
"And I'm proud of the fact that I didn't let coaching overwhelm me. Sometimes you see coaching changes guys where they're not the same person who they were when they started. I think I've been able to be the same person since I started coaching 15, 20 years ago.
"So I'm proud that I've been able to stay true to myself, who I am, and what I believe in. And just being a consistent player, being a consistent coach, being a consistent voice for these guys, being a consistent developer. I do think one of my strong points is being able to teach, being able to get the best out of guys and getting them to better themselves and improve each day, each year."
Abraham and his wife, Tunisia, have three adult children: Devin, who is a high school football coach in Florida; Alivia, who makes her home in North Carolina; and Micah, who plays cornerback for his dad with the Storm. They also have three grandchildren, with a fourth on its way.
