Pat Thomas (born September 1, 1954) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player in 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). Thomas primarily played

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

but also played at

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

Early life

Thomas was born in Plano, Texas. He attended Plano High School where he played on the 1971 state championship team.

College career

Thomas attended

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. He was an All-American player at Texas A&M University.

Professional career

Thomas was drafted by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

in the 2nd round (39th overall) of the 1976 NFL Draft. He played in the

NFL 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 major ...

for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1982. He was twice named an All-Pro selection, in 1978 and 1980. Thomas began his coaching career with the

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducing ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

in 1983. In 1985, Thomas became a coach for the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

. He served in this position until 1989. He then moved to the

to be a coach of the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

until 1992. From 1993 to 2000, Thomas was the defensive backs coach of the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. In 2001, Thomas was named as the defensive backs/conerbacks coach for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. As of 2006, he was no longer in that position.

Life after the NFL

Thomas started coaching at

St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, founded in 1861, is an independent Roman Catholic college preparatory school for young men run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Tonawanda, New York. Established by the De L ...

in Buffalo New York in 2006. One student of specific note to Thomas was

Naaman Roosevelt Naaman I. Roosevelt (born December 24, 1987) is a former football wide receiver and currently an Offensive Assistant for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He played college football at University at Buffalo. He has been a member of the Buffalo Bills ...

, who went on to break the record for most touchdown passes in a single season in western New York, and to play receiver at the University of Buffalo. He is the Father of Heather McCarthy, Patrick Thomas, Jr., Tamara Thomas and Joshua Thomas.

References

External links

Pro-Football-Reference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Pat 1954 births Living people All-American college football players American football cornerbacks American football running backs American football placekickers Buffalo Bills coaches Houston Cougars football coaches Houston Oilers coaches Indianapolis Colts coaches Los Angeles Rams players National Conference Pro Bowl players Sportspeople from Plano, Texas Texas A&M Aggies football players United States Football League coaches Players of American football from Texas