Coaches
Joel Thomas
His career from Wikipedia, each job checked against the team-season pages (✓ = a second source agrees, ≠ = they disagree)
Joel Thomas
Played at Idaho
Source: Wikipedia, read 2026-10-26
| Years | Team | Role | Title | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-2001 | Purdue | GA | Graduate assistant | Joe Tiller |
| 2002-2003 | Louisville | Position | Running backs coach | John Smith (2002), Bobby Petrino (2003) |
| 2004-2005 | Idaho | OC | Co-offensive coordinator & running backs coach✓ | Nick Holt |
| 2006-2008 | Purdue | Position | Running backs coach | Joe Tiller |
| 2009-2011 | Washington | Position | Running backs coach | Steve Sarkisian*+ |
| 2012 | Washington | Position | Associate head coach for offense & running backs coach | Steve Sarkisian*+ |
| 2013-2014 | Arkansas | Position | Running backs coach | Bret Bielema* |
| 2015-2023 | New Orleans Saints (pro) | Position | Running backs coach | not known |
| 2024 | New York Giants (pro) | Position | Running backs coach | not known |
| 2025- | New Orleans Saints (pro) | Position | Associate head coach & running backs coach | not known |
Record
Confirmed coordinator seasons since 2005. FBS rankings
| Season | Team | Job | EPA/play | Points/poss. | Success | Year before | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Idaho | Co-offensive coordinator | 113 | 9 | 100 | 102 | 119 |
Worked under
- Joe Tiller · Purdue 2000-2008 (GA, Position)
- John Smith · Louisville 2002 (Position)
- Bobby Petrino · Louisville 2003 (Position)
- Nick Holt · Idaho 2004-2005 (OC, Position)
- Steve Sarkisian*+ · Washington 2009-2012 (Position)
- Bret Bielema* · Arkansas 2013-2014 (Position)
His tree
Coaches who were on his staffs
No one on his staffs among the coaches we hold.
Coached together
- Danny Hope · Purdue 2000-2008 · him GA, Position, them Other, Position
- Jim Chaney · Purdue 2000-2001 · him GA, them OC, Other
- Joe Tiller · Purdue 2000-2008 · him GA, Position, them Head coach
- Kevin Sumlin · Purdue 2000 · him GA, them Position
- Danny Hope · Louisville 2002 · him Position, them Other
- Jim McElwain · Louisville 2002 · him Position, them Position, ST coord.
- John Smith · Louisville 2002 · him Position, them Head coach
- Mike Cox · Louisville 2002 · him Position, them Position
- Paul Haynes · Louisville 2002 · him Position, them Position
- Shawn Clark · Louisville 2002 · him Position, them GA
- Steve Stripling · Louisville 2002 · him Position, them Position
- Bobby Petrino · Louisville 2003 · him Position, them Head coach
- Jeff Brohm* · Louisville 2003 · him Position, them Position
- Kevin Wolthausen · Louisville 2003 · him Position, them Position
- Paul Petrino · Louisville 2003 · him Position, them OC, Position
- Jason Eck* · Idaho 2004-2005 · him OC, Position, them Position
- Jeff Mills · Idaho 2004-2005 · him OC, Position, them Other, Position
- Johnny Nansen · Idaho 2004-2005 · him OC, Position, them Position, ST coord.
- Jonathan Smith · Idaho 2004-2005 · him OC, Position, them Position
- Nate Kaczor · Idaho 2004-2005 · him OC, Position, them OC, Position
- Nick Holt · Idaho 2004-2005 · him OC, Position, them Head coach
- Chris Kiffin · Idaho 2005 · him OC, Position, them Other
- Bill Legg · Purdue 2006-2007 · him Position, them OC
- Brian Rock · Purdue 2006-2008 · him Position, them Position
- Brock Spack · Purdue 2006-2008 · him Position, them DC
- Ed Zaunbrecher · Purdue 2006-2008 · him Position, them OC, Position
- Mike Jacobs* · Purdue 2006-2007 · him Position, them GA
- Doug Nussmeier · Washington 2009-2011 · him Position, them OC, Position
- Jeff Mills · Washington 2009-2011 · him Position, them Position
- Jimmie Dougherty · Washington 2009-2012 · him Position, them Other, Position
- Johnny Nansen · Washington 2009-2012 · him Position, them Other, Position, ST coord.
- Marques Tuiasosopo · Washington 2009-2010 · him Position, them Position, Strength
- Mike Cox · Washington 2009-2011 · him Position, them Position
- Nick Holt · Washington 2009-2011 · him Position, them DC, Other
- Steve Sarkisian*+ · Washington 2009-2012 · him Position, them Head coach
- Donte Williams · Washington 2011-2012 · him Position, them GA
- Eric Kiesau · Washington 2012 · him Position, them OC
- Justin Wilcox · Washington 2012 · him Position, them DC
- Keith Heyward · Washington 2012 · him Position, them Position
- Peter Sirmon · Washington 2012 · him Position, them Position
- Tosh Lupoi* · Washington 2012 · him Position, them Position
- Barry Lunney Jr. · Arkansas 2013-2014 · him Position, them Position
- Bret Bielema* · Arkansas 2013-2014 · him Position, them Head coach
- Charlie Partridge · Arkansas 2013 · him Position, them Other, Position
- Chris Ash · Arkansas 2013 · him Position, them DC, Position
- Jim Chaney · Arkansas 2013-2014 · him Position, them OC, Position
- Randy Shannon · Arkansas 2013-2014 · him Position, them Position
- Sam Pittman · Arkansas 2013-2014 · him Position, them Other, Position
- Taver Johnson · Arkansas 2013 · him Position, them Other, Position
- Aaron Henry · Arkansas 2014 · him Position, them GA
- Robb Smith · Arkansas 2014 · him Position, them DC, Position