Emmitt Earl Thomas
(born June 3, 1943)
is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
coach and
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
. He most recently served as the defensive backs coach for the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He played in college at the now defunct
Bishop College
Bishop College was a historically black college, founded in Marshall, Texas, United States, in 1881 by the Baptist Home Mission Society. It was intended to serve students in east Texas, where the majority of the black population lived at the t ...
. He played professionally for
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The ...
of the National Football League.
He owns the
Chiefs all-time interception record with 58, which places him ninth on pro football's all-time list.
Thomas was elected to the NFL's Pro Football Hall of Fame after being nominated by the Seniors Committee.
Playing career
Thomas made the Chiefs team as an undrafted free agent from
Bishop College
Bishop College was a historically black college, founded in Marshall, Texas, United States, in 1881 by the Baptist Home Mission Society. It was intended to serve students in east Texas, where the majority of the black population lived at the t ...
in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
;
he was an
AFL All-Star in 1968 and made the NFL's AFC-NFC
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
four times (1971, 1972, 1974, 1975) after the Chiefs joined the NFL in the 1970
AFL-NFL Merger. He was also selected All-Pro three times.
In the 1969 season, he led all pro football with 9 interceptions, which he returned for 146 yards and a touchdown, helping his team win the AFL Championship and the fourth and last
AFL-NFL World Championship Game
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
, which the Chiefs won 23-7 over the NFL champion Vikings. Thomas recorded an interception in the Kansas City victory. In 1974, he led the NFL in interceptions (12), return yards (214), and return touchdowns (2).
Thomas retired from playing after 13 seasons; he finished his pro football career with 58 interceptions, which he returned for 937 yards and five touchdowns. He also recovered four fumbles, gained 64 yards returning punts, and returned 29 kickoffs for 673 yards. He played in 181 career games, tying for the fifth-most in club annals, and his 58 interceptions are a franchise record.
Thomas was elected to the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
in 2008. He was officially inducted at the Enshrinement Ceremony where his bust, sculpted by
Scott Myers, was unveiled on August 2, 2008.
Coaching career
Thomas has been an assistant coach in the NFL since 1981. Before being named interim head coach of the
Atlanta Falcons on December 12, 2007 after the resignation of
Bobby Petrino
Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the Offensive Coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. He is the former head coach for the Missouri State Bears. Previously, he served as the head co ...
, Thomas was the Falcons' Senior Defensive Assistant/Secondary Coach. After Petrino's sudden departure left the team in shambles, Thomas attempted to unite the Atlanta locker room, and was able to lead the Falcons to a season-ending victory over the
Seattle Seahawks. On January 24, 2008, new Falcons head coach
Mike Smith announced that Thomas would remain on staff as assistant head coach. Thomas was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame along with
Darrell Green
Darrell Ray Green (born February 15, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins from 1983 to 2002. He is widely considered to be one of the gr ...
and
Art Monk
James Arthur Monk (born December 5, 1957) is a retired American football wide receiver who played in the NFL for the Washington Redskins, New York Jets, and the Philadelphia Eagles. He is considered by many NFL players, coaches and analysts ...
, two players he coached during Super Bowl runs with the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
. On January 13, 2010, his contract expired and was not renewed by the Falcons.
On February 1, 2010, he was hired as the secondary coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. On February 12, 2019, Thomas announced his retirement from coaching.
Head coaching record
*''Interim head coach.''
Personal life
Thomas resides in
Kansas City, Missouri. He married Jacqueline Heafley in 1983, and they remained married until her death on August 21, 2017. He has one son, Derek, and one daughter, Dedra, from a previous marriage with ex-wife Dianne Thomas.
Derek
Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of '' Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler".
Common variants of the name ar ...
now resides in Las Vegas Nevada doing numerous coaching jobs.Dedra Thomas is currently a legal nurse consultant in Angleton,TX. Thomas has a total of eight grandkids; Keydron, Keynan, Kierrah, Kyandria, Bailey, Samantha, Jade and Shane.
See also
*
List of American Football League players
The following is a list of men who played for the American Football League (AFL, 1960–1969).
Players
A
B
C
D
Elbert Dubenion
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
Notes
Player notes
1,398 ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Emmitt
1943 births
Living people
American football cornerbacks
Atlanta Falcons coaches
Atlanta Falcons head coaches
Bishop Tigers football players
Central Missouri Mules football coaches
Green Bay Packers coaches
Kansas City Chiefs players
Minnesota Vikings coaches
National Football League defensive coordinators
St. Louis Cardinals (football) coaches
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American Football League All-Star players
National Football League players with retired numbers
People from Angleton, Texas
Players of American football from Texas
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from the Houston metropolitan area
Washington Redskins coaches
African-American coaches of American football
African-American players of American football
Kansas City Chiefs coaches
American Football League players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople