Coe, a former Conservative member of parliament and a political opponent of Blair's Labour government, said the Prime Minister had performed a vital function in spending more than two days in Singapore wooing International Olympic Committee members.
"Having the prime minister here was absolutely essential," he told a news conference a day after London had edged out Paris 54-50 in the final ballot.
Three other candidates -- Moscow, New York and Madrid -- were eliminated in earlier voting rounds.
"Spending time with the prime minister was very important for a number of these members. They wanted to know we had complete political underpinning," Coe added.
The former Olympic double gold medallist arrived more than an hour late for a news conference and confessed to staying out into the small hours of the night at the London victory party.
Coe said Blair, who was in Singapore from Sunday to Tuesday and who had individual meetings with more than a score of IOC members, had also been at the Athens Olympics last year promoting London's bid.
"This was not cold calling," he said. "This was a relationship we worked hard to develop with IOC members."
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Asked if it was a temptation, he replied simply: "No - done that."
London Mayor Ken Livingstone, who originally took office as an independent after leaving the Labour party over differences with Blair and the leadership, also paid fulsome tribute to the prime minister.
"I can't think of any other leader who would have spent the best part of three days cooped up in a room to win the bid," he said of Blair's visit to Singapore.
"If you've ever watched the prime minister work a room, you realise what a powerful influence this can be."
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