Thomas Hammock (born July 7, 1981) is an

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 with ...

coach. He is the head football coach at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

(NIU), a position he has held since January 2019. Prior to being named the head coach of his alma mater, he served as the running backs coach for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

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) from 2014 to 2018.

Biography

A native of

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Bishop Luers High School Bishop Luers High School is a small Catholic high school located in the southside of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. Bishop Luers is owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. The school was founded in 1958 by t ...

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

before committing to

(NIU) where he played

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 ...

from 1999 to 2002. Hammock earned his bachelor's degree in marketing from NIU in 2002, and a master's in educational leadership from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

in 2004. He and his wife, Cheynnitha, also a NIU alum, have a daughter, Tierra, and a son, Thomas Douglas.

Playing career

As a player, Hammock gained 2,432 rushing yards in 32 games under head coach

Joe Novak Joe Novak (born April 19, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Northern Illinois University from 1996 to 2007, compiling a record of 63–76. Novak played college football as a defensive en ...

, which ranks 13th all-time at NIU. Hammock rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his sophomore and junior seasons, and was also named a two-time first team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2000 and 2001. In the first start of his senior season campaign, he rushed for 172 yards on 38 carries to help propel the Huskies to a 42–41 overtime win over Wake Forest. Following the game, however, Hammock experienced shortness of breath and chest discomfort. After a series of tests and following the recommendations from doctors and specialists, he was sidelined the remainder of the season. In December of 2002, shortly after graduating from NIU, he announced his retirement due to a heart-related condition with one season of eligibility remaining.

Coaching career

Hammock began his coaching career at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, serving as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respons ...

for the

Wisconsin Badger The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Di ...

s from 2003 to 2004. The following season, he was named the running backs coach at Northern Illinois, reuniting with his former head coach, Joe Novak. In Hammock's first season as running backs coach,

Garrett Wolfe Garrett Wolfe (born August 17, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played his college football at Northern Illinois. Early years A Chicago native, Wolfe atte ...

rushed for 1,580 yards and 16 touchdowns in just nine games as NIU won the MAC West Division and appeared in the

MAC Championship Game The MAC Football Championship Game is a football game between the winners of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) to determine the conference champion. History The game has been played since 1997, when the conferenc ...

for the first time in school history. Hammock then became a member of the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

coaching staff from 2007-2010, first serving as running backs coach before spending his final season as co-offensive coordinator. On February 23, 2011, he was hired as running backs coach for Wisconsin where he coached standouts like

Montee Ball Montee Ball Jr. (born December 5, 1990) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin, where he was twice recognized as the be ...

, James White and

Melvin Gordon Melvin Gordon III (born April 13, 1993) is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first roun ...

until 2014. On February 5, 2014, the

hired Hammock as their new running backs coach.

Northern Illinois

On January 18, 2019, Hammock was named the 23rd head football coach at his alma mater, Northern Illinois. In his first season back at NIU, his team finished the season 5–7 overall and 4–4 in

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

(MAC) play to tie for third place in the MAC's West Division. Hammock's second season as head coach was shorted due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic. Touting a roster that was composed of 71% freshmen, inexperience and youth became additional challenges for an already unprecedented season. The Huskies went winless in six games against conference opponents. However, the season laid a foundation for many freshmen who saw significant playing time. On November 9, 2021, Hammock signed a contract extension through the 2026 season.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Northern Illinois profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammock, Thomas 1981 births Living people American football running backs Baltimore Ravens coaches Northern Illinois Huskies football coaches Northern Illinois Huskies football players Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Players of American football from Jersey City, New Jersey Players of American football from Fort Wayne, Indiana Coaches of American football from Indiana African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football