FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Falcons defensive backs coach and former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Emmitt Thomas walked into his first training camp in 1966 facing a competition against more than 100 players.
Today, he walks off the practice field in the ranks with 16 other men with a chance at enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Thomas – who was named to the Chiefs hall of fame in 1986 after a 13-year career that included a team-record 58 interceptions – and Chicago Cardinals back Marshall Goldberg were added to the list of potential Hall of Famers by the Seniors Committee Thursday afternoon.
The remaining 15 players to be considered for enshrinement in 2008 will be selected at a later date. The Hall of Fame selection committee will meet in February to select members from the list of finalists.
To be elected, Goldberg and Thomas must each receive the same 80 percent voting support that is required of all finalists.
“I’m very excited (and) honored,” Thomas said after practice. “I thought the window of opportunity had closed for me since I had been retired so long. But I think staying in coaching and staying visible kept my name up there. I’m real happy.”
At the time of his retirement, the soft-spoken Thomas ranked fifth in the NFL in career interceptions. He also had five returns for touchdowns in his career, which helped earn him slots in five Pro Bowls. He was a key player on the Chiefs 1966 and 1969 AFL title teams and recorded an interception in the Chiefs’ 23-7 Super Bowl IV win over Minnesota. In 1974 he picked off a career-high 12 passes.
He was an undrafted player out of a small college and didn’t think much about the Hall of Fame in his playing days.
“You have to realize I came from Bishop College – a small college of about 1,400," he said. "I was a quarterback there. I walked on at Kansas City and I was fortunate enough to get in the mix of a lot of great athletes.
“I had an excellent head coach and defensive coordinator in Hank Stram and Tom Bettis. They worked with me. They gave me time to develop. I’ve just been a blessed man."
Thomas went into coaching in 1979 as defensive coordinator at Central Missouri State. He has coached for six NFL teams and served as defensive coordinator for the Eagles, Packers and Vikings.
Since his arrival in Atlanta in 2002, the Falcons rank in the top 10 in the league in total interceptions (86).
He’s seen his share of adversity as a coach and a player, but considers himself fortunate to have his career reach this point of recognition.
“I was struggling (as a rookie) because I wasn’t drafted and I was a walk-on free agent,” he said. “The year I went to Kansas City in ’66 I think they drafted like six (defensive backs). We had 100 and some players in camp. By the grace and the blessing I was able to make it.”
