Dwight Thomas jokes that his name may not be remembered but that fact that he coached Emmitt Smith at Escambia High School will never be forgotten.
Well, Thomas’ name is going to be remembered for a long time.
The two-time state champion is being inducted into the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame on Sept. 21.
Thomas, 82, was selected to the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1995.
“Emmitt Smith will always talk about what I taught him,” Thomas said. “It’s a dream until you write it down, and then it becomes a goal. And you know what you need to do to get there. We’re all goal people. It’s always a goal of mine to be in the Hall of Fame.”
Thomas, who now lives in the Jacksonville area, complied a 102-66-2 record as a head coach and led Escambia to back-to-back state championships in 1984 and 1985. He also was an assistant coach on Merritt Island’s 1972 state title team.
That Merritt Island staff included two of his three coaching mentors: head coach Eddie Feely and defensive coordinator Gerry Odom. Thomas first got into high school coaching in 1965 as the left guard coach at Leon, whose head coach was the legendary Gene Cox.
“Eddie Feely, Gerry Odom and Gene Cox, all of them won state championships and all are in the Hall of Fame,” Thomas said. “What a dream come true here that I can be in the Hall of Fame with them.”
Thomas was a head coach at Cocoa Beach, Choctawhatchee and Escambia. He went 32-12 at Choctawhatchee before being fired. But getting fired turned out to be a blessing for Thomas.
“I got to be lucky,” he said. “How many times can you think of anybody lucky to be fired? I’m that guy. I was lucky to get fired because I got to coach Emmitt Smith as a result of that. That helped me to realize those goals. Had I not gotten fired, I’d never have enough points to go into either of the hall of fames.”
Smith, the NFL’s career rushing yards leader, had a storied career at Escambia. He rushed for 8,804 yards and 106 touchdowns and helped the Gators win the Class 3A title in 1984 and the Class 4A championship in 1985.
“When you think about being lucky to coach, somebody you coached for four years and you never hear them swear, someone who was never tardy to a meeting one time in four years,” Thomas said. “Never missed a game in four years. And he’s the greatest of all time? You’ve got to be lucky. It’s back to what I say, I’m a lucky duck.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia football great Dwight Thomas, who coached Emmitt Smith, enters FHSAA Hall of Fame
Reporting by Jon Santucci, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
