John Thompson (American football coach)
John Thompson (born October 16, 1955) is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at East Carolina University (ECU) from 2003 to 2004, and at Arkansas State on an interim basis twice—first during the 2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl and also in the 2014 GoDaddy Bowl. To date, he has compiled a career college football record of 5–20.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 16, 1955 El Paso, Texas |
| Playing career | |
| 1970s | Central Arkansas |
| Position(s) | Defensive back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1982 | Arkansas (GA) |
| 1983–1986 | Northwestern State (DC) |
| 1987 | Alabama (LB) |
| 1988–1989 | Northwestern State (DC) |
| 1990–1991 | Louisiana Tech (DC) |
| 1992 | Southern Miss (DC) |
| 1993–1998 | Southern Miss (AHC/DC) |
| 1999 | Memphis (DC) |
| 2000 | Arkansas (co-DC) |
| 2001 | Arkansas (DC) |
| 2002 | Florida (DC/MLB) |
| 2003–2004 | East Carolina |
| 2005 | South Carolina (co-DC/ILB) |
| 2007 | Ole Miss (DC/DB) |
| 2008–2011 | Georgia State (AHC/DC/ILB) |
| 2012–2013 | Arkansas State (DC/LB) |
| 2012 | Arkansas State (interim HC) |
| 2013 | Arkansas State (interim HC) |
| 2014–2015 | Texas State (DC) |
| 2017–2018 | Blessed Trinity HS (GA) (DC/LB) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2006 | Central Arkansas |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 5–20 |
| Bowls | 2–0 |
Coaching career
Thompson was hired by head coach Ed Orgeron, who played under Thompson at Northwestern State University. Thompson has also served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Alabama, the University of Arkansas, the University of Florida, Louisiana State University, Louisiana Tech, and the University of Memphis. From 2003 to 2004, he was the head football coach at East Carolina University.
His most recent coaching position, prior to Ole Miss, was as co-defensive coordinator at South Carolina, but he left to return to his alma mater, the University of Central Arkansas, as the athletic director. Thompson then accepted the position as defensive coordinator at Georgia State University. Thompson accepted the defensive coordinator position for the Arkansas State Red Wolves on February 25, 2012 under Head Coach Gus Malzahn. Thompson, his wife, Charleen, and two sons, Cabe and Hays, currently live in Alpharetta, Georgia outside of Atlanta.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Carolina Pirates (Conference USA) (2003–2004) | |||||||||
| 2003 | East Carolina | 1–11 | 1–7 | 10th | |||||
| 2004 | East Carolina | 2–9 | 2–6 | T–10th | |||||
| East Carolina: | 3–20 | 3–13 | |||||||
| Arkansas State Red Wolves (Sun Belt Conference) (2012–2013) | |||||||||
| 2013 | Arkansas State | 1–0* | W GoDaddy Bowl | ||||||
| 2014 | Arkansas State | 1–0* | W GoDaddy Bowl | ||||||
| Arkansas State: | 2–0 | * Only coached bowl games | |||||||
| Total: | 5–20 | ||||||||
References
Authority control  |
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