Patrick Shane Thomas (born September 1, 1954) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

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 ...

for the

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

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He 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)#Offense ...

and

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

Early life

Thomas was born in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "flat surface" /'plano/) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, where it is the largest city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County. A small portion of Plano is located in Denton County, Texas, Denton Count ...

. 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, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. He was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

player at Texas A&M University.

Professional career

Thomas was drafted by the

in the 2nd round (39th overall) of the 1976 NFL Draft. He played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1982. He was twice named an

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

selection, in 1978 and 1980. Thomas began his coaching career with the Houston Gamblers 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 (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

. 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, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. 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–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

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

Life after the NFL

Thomas started coaching at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute in Buffalo New York in 2006. One student of specific note to Thomas was

Naaman Roosevelt Naaman I. Roosevelt (born December 24, 1987) is an American former professional gridiron football, football wide receiver who is currently the wide receivers coach, receivers coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL) ...

, 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 Texas A&M Aggies football players Houston Gamblers coaches Players of American football from Plano, Texas