Scarborough Coulson started his career in the youth system of his hometown club Scarborough at the age of nine. In April 2004, he went on trial with
Premier League club
Everton, playing in a youth academy match against
Liverpool. Coulson
captained the Scarborough under-19 team that won the Northern Alliance League title in the 2003–04 season. Coulson became Scarborough's youngest goalscorer after he scored an equalising goal against
Tamworth in a 2–2 home draw on 15 March 2005 with 10 minutes of the match remaining. and finished 2004–05, his first in senior football, with two goals in 14 appearances. His first goal of 2005–06 came after scoring an 87th-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw away to
Altrincham on 20 September 2005, having entered the match as a second-half substitute. He went on trial with
League One club
Barnsley in January 2006 and the following month manager
Andy Ritchie expressed his desire to sign Coulson in the summer. Despite this, Coulson decided against extending his trial at Barnsley, opting to return to the Scarborough team to help their fight against
relegation. He finished the season seven goals from 33 appearances as Scarborough were relegated to the
Conference North and was awarded the club's annual Players' Player of the Year and Fans' Player of the Year awards. Ritchie described him as a "good young, raw talent who I am sure will develop into a fine addition to our squad". He scored his first Barnsley goal with a close range header in the third minute of
stoppage time away to
Southend United in the
FA Cup third round on 6 January 2007, making the score 1–1. He finished
2006–07 with one goal in six appearances. He made his debut on 4 September 2007 in a 2–0 defeat at home to
Burton Albion, in which he came close to scoring but goalkeeper
Kevin Poole and defender
John Brayford blocked his efforts on goal. His first goal for Northwich came with the team's only goal in a 3–1 home defeat to
Histon, before being substituted in the 79th minute with calf strain. Coulson returned to Barnsley after the loan expired on 30 September 2007, despite caretaker manager
Paul Warhurst having convinced him to stay at Northwich for another month. He finished the loan with two goals in six appearances. Following this appearance, Coulson said: "I really enjoyed that chance and it has been a long time coming". His second Barnsley goal came with the winner in an FA Cup
third round 2–1 victory over Blackpool on 5 January 2008, which was his first goal at Oakwell. He made an appearance as an 80th-minute substitute for match winner
Kayode Odejayi in the 1–0 home victory over Premier League team
Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-final on 8 March 2008. He suffered a knee injury in training on 21 April 2008, rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament, which was expected to keep him sidelined for seven to nine months. Manager
Simon Davey commented: "It's a complete disaster for him. He'd been coming on really well. He was the first name I looked to put on the bench". He finished the season with 16 appearances and one goal for Barnsley. His first-team return came on 22 November 2008 after entering Barnsley's 2–1 defeat away to
Preston North End as a 90th-minute substitute. However, a recurrence of his knee injury in January 2009 ruled him out of action for the rest of
2008–09, which he finished with three appearances. He scored his first goal for Chester on 7 November 2009 in a 3–1 away win over
Grays Athletic. After Chester failed in an attempt to extend his loan he returned to Barnsley in November 2009, having scored one goal from five appearances. However, these were later removed from the records after Chester were expelled from the
Football Conference the following February as a result of the club breaching five league rules.
Grimsby Town in 2011 On 19 November 2009, Coulson signed for
League Two club Grimsby Town on an initial one-month loan. He made his debut two days later after starting in a 0–0 draw away to
Lincoln City. His loan was extended for a second month in December 2009, keeping him at Grimsby until 23 January 2010. Shortly before the loan was due to expire, Coulson's stay at Grimsby was extended until the end of
2009–10 on 19 January 2010. He finished the season with five goals in 29 appearances for Grimsby, with the team being relegated to the Conference Premier. In the third match of 2010–11, at home to
Hayes & Yeading United on 21 August 2010, he took a kick to his ankle, which was expected to keep him out of the team for a month. He returned on 18 September 2010 after starting in a 2–1 defeat at home to
Fleetwood Town, but was substituted at half-time. Coulson made a goalscoring second comeback from his ankle injury in Grimsby's 2–2 home draw with
Eastbourne Borough on 30 October 2010. For the first time as a Grimsby player he scored twice in one match in a 2–1 victory at home to
AFC Wimbledon on 5 March 2011, with a first-half shot into the bottom left of the goal and a second-half shot into the top-left corner from inside the
penalty area. Coulson's first season as a permanent Grimsby player concluded having scored nine goals in 33 appearances. Coulson was handed a one-match suspension after accumulating five yellow cards, missing the home match against
Newport County on 19 November. He made an immediate return to the Grimsby line-up, starting in their 1–0 home win over League Two team
Port Vale in the FA Cup
first round on 22 November 2011. His first two-goal haul of the season came in a 3–0 victory at home to
Darlington in the
FA Trophy first round on 10 December 2011, scoring Grimsby's first and third goals. Having been left out of the squad for Grimsby's final two matches of the season, Coulson spoke that he was saddened by the manner of his departure, saying "It would have been nice to go out on a high". He scored on his debut with a long-range strike away to League One team
Doncaster Rovers in the League Cup
first round to give York a 1–0 lead, with the match finishing 1–1 after
extra time. Coulson missed York's first
penalty in the ensuing penalty shoot-out, which the team lost 4–2. After sustaining a cruciate ligament injury during York's away match against Accrington on 23 October 2012, Coulson was expected to be out for the rest of
2012–13. However, he made his return as a 73rd-minute substitute in York's 0–0 draw away to
Bristol Rovers on 30 March 2013.
Scarborough Athletic On 25 July 2017, Coulson signed for
Northern Premier League Division One North club
Scarborough Athletic. In the 2022 Northern Premier League play-off final, Coulson scored the first goal of the game in a 2–1 win against
Warrington Town. On 26 November 2023, Coulson departed the club by mutual consent in order to allow him to find more game time.
Farsley Celtic On 1 December 2023, Coulson joined fellow National League North club
Farsley Celtic.
Bridlington Town In June 2024 Coulson left Farsley Celtic and joined
Bridlington Town. ==Managerial career==