Joseph Henry Thomas (March 18, 1921 – February 10, 1983) was a National Football League (NFL) general manager and also served as the head coach of the Baltimore Colts for part of the 1974 season.
Biography
Early years
Joe Thomas was born March 18, 1921, and grew up in Cortland, Ohio.[1]
After the war, Thomas began a coaching career at the high school level, leading teams at New Albany and Rensselaer high schools in Indiana.[2]
Thomas then took a position as a line coach at DePauw University, where he remained for four years.[1] Throughout his time as a college coach, Thomas stayed in touch with professional coaches Brown and Ewbank as a participant for six years in off-season football clinics organized by the Cleveland Browns.[1]
He then enrolled at Indiana University from which he received a Master's degree in Physical Education, also working as an assistant coach on the staff of head coach Bernie Crimmins during this period.[1] He also served as an assistant basketball coach on the staff of Branch McCracken for Indiana's 1952–53 NCAA championship season.[3]
NFL and CFL assistant coach
When Weeb Ewbank was named head coach of the Baltimore Colts in 1954, he was quick to name Thomas to his staff as defensive line coach.[1] Thomas would remain in Baltimore one year before moving on to other positions with the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.[2]
Football executive positions
Thomas was the first person hired by the NFL expansion Minnesota Vikings in 1960, building the team from the ground up.[4]
In the summer of 1965 Thomas again became the first person hired by an NFL expansion franchise, this time the Miami Dolphins, assuming the role of player personnel director.[4] Within six seasons, Thomas had assembled a team which won an American Football Conference title and advanced all the way to Super Bowl VI.[4]
Following the Dolphins' loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the Superbowl, Thomas became embroiled in a contract dispute with team owner Joe Robbie, however, culminating with Thomas' resignation on February 22, 1972. He was succeeded by Bobby Beathard three days later.[5] Miami would win the next two Superbowls with rosters largely assembled by Thomas.
When the ballclub opened 1972 at 1–4, he fired head coach Don McCafferty on October 16 and replaced him with defensive line coach John Sandusky who was ordered by Thomas to start younger players over the veterans.[8] The result was Johnny Unitas being benched for the remainder of the season in favor of Marty Domres.[9] After the 5–9 Colts finished its first losing campaign in sixteen years,[10] he dismissed Sandusky and his entire coaching staff on December 20.[11]
He was reunited with Dolphins offensive coordinator Howard Schnellenberger who was named as Sandusky's successor eight weeks later on February 14, 1973.[12] When the Colts went 4–13 over parts of two seasons with Schnellenberger at the helm, Thomas was named to replace him by Irsay following a 30–10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Veterans Stadium on September 29, 1974.[13] Irsay had first gone to the press box to inform Thomas that he was the new head coach and then to the locker room to announce his actions to the Colts players before breaking the news to Schnellenberger in a heated discussion in the coaches office.[14][15]
After the Colts qualified for the NFL playoffs by winning the AFC East title in each of two consecutive seasons in 1975 and 1976, Thomas lost a power struggle over player personnel decisions to head coach Ted Marchibroda and was fired by Irsay on January 21, 1977.[18] The Colts had five different head coaches during Thomas' five-year tenure, one of whom was himself.
San Francisco 49ers GM
Thomas then was hired as GM of the San Francisco 49ers in 1977 by new owner Eddie DeBartolo at the recommendation of Al Davis and immediately fired head coach Monte Clark.[19] The 49ers went 7–23 in his two seasons with the franchise, and his biggest trade, a series of five high draft picks for O. J. Simpson. He also fired two more head coaches, Ken Meyer and Pete McCulley (and made 14 total roster changes).[20] Thomas and his third 49ers head coach Fred O'Connor were dismissed on January 8, 1979, one day prior to Bill Walsh succeeding the latter.[21]