Joel Thomas, a 25-year coaching veteran, is in his first season as the Giants' running backs coach.
Thomas is a 24-year coaching veteran who spent the previous nine seasons as the New Orleans Saints' running backs coach. During the time, the Saints tied for second in the NFL with 161 rushing touchdowns and Thomas' backs registered 27 individual 100-yard performances.
Under Thomas' tutelage, Alvin Kamara earned five consecutive Pro Bowl selections (2017-21) and is the only NFL player with at least 1,160 yards from scrimmage in each of the last seven seasons, three of them 1,500 yards or more. Kamara is the first player in Saints history to lead the team in rushing in six consecutive seasons. He has a franchise-record 10,048 scrimmage yards and 78 total touchdowns and is one of four players with 10,000+ yards and 75+ scores since entering the league in 2017. The others are Derrick Henry, Tyreek Hill, and Christian McCaffrey).
Kamara is first in Saints history with 54 rushing touchdowns, third with 5,829 yards, and fifth with 505 receptions.
Thomas also coached Mark Ingram II, New Orleans' career rushing leader with 6,500 yards, for six years, including two 1,000-yard seasons.
In 2020, Thomas oversaw the NFL's sixth-ranked rushing attack. New Orleans led the league with a club-record 30 touchdowns on the ground, tied for the NFL's sixth-highest total all-time. Kamara, selected to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl, shattered the team record, and led the NFL with 21 touchdowns, ranking second with 93 first downs and third with a career-best 1,688 total yards from scrimmage.
In addition to running for a career-high 932 yards on 187 carries (5.0 avg.), Kamara led NFL running backs in receiving with a team-best and career-high 83 grabs for 756 yards and five touchdowns, as he became only the second Saint to lead the team in rushing and receiving in the same season. Under Thomas, Kamara became the first Saint to have three consecutive seasons with at least 1,300 total yards from scrimmage in his first three seasons and the only New Orleans back selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three campaigns.
Thomas joined the Saints following a two-year stint (2013-14) as the running backs coach at the University of Arkansas. In 2014, tailbacks Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins were the only pair of FBS teammates to rush for 1,000-plus yards. The duo became just the second pair of Razorbacks to accomplish the feat. Collins became just the second player in school history to surpass 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons and was named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2013.
Thomas was the running backs coach at the University of Washington from 2009-12, when he coached a 1,000-yard rusher each year and added the title of associate head coach for offense prior to the 2012 campaign.
Thomas also has experience as running backs coach at Purdue (2006-08), Idaho (2004-05) and Louisville (2002-03). In 2007, the Boilermakers led the Big Ten in total offense and scoring offense. In 2008, tailback Kory Sheets rushed for 1,131 yards to become Purdue's first 1,000-yard rusher in six seasons. Thomas was also at Purdue from 2000-01, as a graduate assistant. In 2000, Drew Brees led the NCAA in total offense and won the Maxwell Award and the Boilermakers won the Big Ten and advanced to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 33 years.
In between his two stints at Purdue, Thomas served as co-offensive coordinator at his alma mater, the University of Idaho in 2004-05 and as running backs coach at Louisville from 2002-03.
Thomas lettered at running back at Idaho from 1993-98, where he was a two-time first-team All-Big West selection and conference Player of the Year as a senior and still holds the Vandals' career records with 3,929 rushing yards, 51 rushing touchdowns and 765 rushing attempts. He was inducted into the University of Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008 and into the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022. Thomas earned his bachelor's degree in public communications in 1998.
Thomas and his wife, Ebbie, are the parents of two boys, Teyo and Niko.
2000-01…………………….Purdue University…………graduate assistant
2002-03…………………….University of Louisville…..running backs
2004-05…………………….University of Idaho……….co-offensive coordinator
2006-08…………………….Purdue University…………running backs
2009-12…………………….University of Washington…running backs
2013-14…………………….University of Arkansas ……running backs
2015-23…………………….New Orleans Saints………..running backs
2024………………………..New York Giants…………..running backs
