Thomas Hammock (born July 7, 1981) is the head football coach at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

(NIU). Prior to returning to his alma mater in January 2019, he served as the running backs coach for the

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of the

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(NFL) for five seasons from 2014 to 2018.

Biography

A native of

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, Hammock was born on July 7, 1981. He attended Bishop Luers High School in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. 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 at the 2020 census ...

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)#Offense ...

from 1999–2002. 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 The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

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, Thomas Hammock rushed for 2,432 yards in 32 games under head coach Joe Novak, which ranks 13th all-time at NIU. In both his sophomore and junior seasons, Hammock ran for over 1,000 yards, and was named first team CoSIDA Academic All-American. To start his senior campaign, Hammock 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 noticed that he was having a hard time recovering with symptoms like shortness of breath and chest discomfort. Upon visiting several doctors and specialists, Hammock was diagnosed with a heart condition called

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, or HOCM when obstructive) is a condition in which muscle tissues of the heart become thickened without an obvious cause. The parts of the heart most commonly affected are the interventricular septum and the ...

. Through the recommendation of doctors, Hammock forwent the remainder of his senior season. Then in December 2002, shortly after graduating from NIU, Hammock announced his retirement with one season of eligibility remaining.

Coaching career

Thomas 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 resp ...

for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2003–2004. The following season, he was named the running backs coach at NIU, reuniting with his former head coach, Joe Novak. In Hammock's first season as running backs coach, Garrett Wolfe 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 an annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). History The game has been played since 1997, when the conference was first divided into div ...

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

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coaching staff from 2007–2010, first serving as the running backs coach before spending his final season as co-offensive coordinator under Jerry Kill. In February 2011, Hammock was hired by

Bret Bielema Bret Arnold Bielema (; born January 13, 1970) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a position he has held since the 2021 season. Bielema served as the head football coach at ...

to serve as the running backs coach for Wisconsin where he coached standouts like Montee Ball, James White and

Melvin Gordon Melvin Gordon III (born April 13, 1993) is an American professional football running back. He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers, earning unanimous All-American honors and winning the Doak Walker Award as the top college running ...

. A trio that would run for 9,044 yards and 102 touchdowns during the three seasons Hammock was on staff. The most notable season being Montee Ball's 2011 campaign where he finished fourth in Heisman voting, breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season touchdown record with 39 total scores. Hammock's success as a running backs coach at the collegiate level led to him joining the

in February 2014. There he served in a similar capacity under head coach

John Harbaugh John William Harbaugh ( ; born September 23, 1962) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia ...

Northern Illinois

On January 18, 2019, Hammock was named the 23rd head football coach at his alma mater, Northern Illinois University (NIU). 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 collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(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 the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic. Touting a roster that was composed of 71 percent 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. Prior to the 2021 season, Northern Illinois was predicted to finish last in the MAC West Division. In week one, the Huskies went into Atlanta and stunned

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, 22–21. The team that was led by transfer quarterback, Rocky Lombardi went on to win the conference that season and it earned coach Hammock the 2021 MAC Football Coach of the year. On November 9, 2021, Hammock signed a contract extension through the 2026 season. On September 7, 2024, Hammock's Huskies defeated the fifth-ranked

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame Stadium is an outdoor college football, football stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, the home field of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, Fighting Irish football team. It was built in 1930 under the guidance of Knute Ro ...

, earning NIU its first-ever win over a top-10 opponent, and becoming the first MAC team to ever beat a top-5 opponent.

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 Bishop Luers High School alumni 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