Report: Saints Lose RB Coach Joel Thomas To Giants

Saints lose another assistant coach on a busy afternoon of activity.

The New Orleans Saints are losing another from their offensive coaching staff. Running Back coach Joel Thomas is leaving New Orleans for the same position with the New York Giants, according to an announcement from that organization on Tuesday. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the Saints had announced that they were parting ways with offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and terminated the contracts of WR coach Kodi Burns and senior offensive assistant Bob Bicknell. Thomas, who had received interest throughout the league in recent years, had interviewed with the Giants late last week. 

Thomas was an accomplished college running back at Idaho before becoming a coach. Upon his graduation in 1998, he was Idaho's all-time leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. 

Thomas, 49, has been with the Saints since 2015 as their running backs coach. It's been his only NFL coaching position to this point. Prior to joining New Orleans, he'd been a collegiate offensive assistant at Louisville, Idaho, Purdue, Washington, and Arkansas. 

May 14, 2022; New Orleans Saints running back coach Joel Thomas looks on during rookie camp at the New Orleans Saints Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Since Thomas joined the Saints, Mark Ingram II had back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing campaigns on his way to becoming the franchise's all-time leading rusher. Thomas also helped oversee the development of Alvin Kamara into one of the NFL's best all-around offensive threats.

In 2023, the Saints slipped to 21st in rushing production (102.5 yards per game), with their 3.6 per carry ranking 31st in the NFL. Despite the slip in production, Thomas has still been one of the league's most respected offensive assistants for several years.