Godin and Jimenez would be the normal partnership for Uruguay and to be honest they can't get them back quickly enough. Coates hasn't progressed in the past 4 or 5 years and is fortunate to find himself still in and around the national team.
Coates hasn't done bad at all for Uruguay in general. The problem is who do you partner him with as CB.
The standard lineup would be Maxi Pereira, Godin, Giménez and Cáceres. There are good, on-form backups coming from the U23 ranks, like Manchester United's Guillermo Varela.
Instead, Tabarez went for experience against Brazil, picking Victorino, Fucile and Pereira as the other members of the back four. Victorino is well past his best and playing for his boyhood team in the local league before retirement. Fucile also plays in the same team, because nobody else would dare hire him after so many horrible injuries in the past four years. Pereira is all guts and no brains, often getting caught of position.