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Here's some big news for Joel Thomas. On Friday, the Senior Bowl announced that Thomas, the New Orleans Saints assistant coach, has been named head coach of this American Team at this year's college all-star game (you can find the American Team roster right here). Thomas returned to the Saints in 2025 after spending a year with the New York Giants; his current title is running backs coach and associate head coach. He's clearly someone Kellen Moore has a lot of respect for. Thomas spent nine years in New Orleans before leaving to work with the Giants in 2024, and he interviewed for the head coach position at his Idaho Vandals alma mater back in 2021.
And this is a great opportunity for him. Thomas will get to lead practices, develop young pros, and interact with many of this year's top NFL draft prospects during the week leading up to the Senior Bowl game itself. With many decisionmakers from the NFL and college ranks in attendance, this is a chance for Thomas to make his case to lead a team. At the same time, he'll need to showcase the draft prospects hoping to hear their names called in April. It's a tricky balancing act.
But there's another point we should touch on here. The Senior Bowl is a prime opportunity for the Saints to start meeting with draft prospects and filling out their evaluations. They've found a lot of talent here over the years. Just in 2025, they found draft picks like quarterback Tyler Shough, safety Jonas Sanker, cornerback Quincy Riley, running back Devin Neal, and tight end Moliki Matavao at the Senior Bowl. They also added rookie free agents including punter James Burnip and running back Marcus Yarns from the Senior Bowl roster. We should expect a big haul in 2026, too.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: Saints assistant Joel Thomas is Senior Bowl head coach
Continue reading...
And this is a great opportunity for him. Thomas will get to lead practices, develop young pros, and interact with many of this year's top NFL draft prospects during the week leading up to the Senior Bowl game itself. With many decisionmakers from the NFL and college ranks in attendance, this is a chance for Thomas to make his case to lead a team. At the same time, he'll need to showcase the draft prospects hoping to hear their names called in April. It's a tricky balancing act.
But there's another point we should touch on here. The Senior Bowl is a prime opportunity for the Saints to start meeting with draft prospects and filling out their evaluations. They've found a lot of talent here over the years. Just in 2025, they found draft picks like quarterback Tyler Shough, safety Jonas Sanker, cornerback Quincy Riley, running back Devin Neal, and tight end Moliki Matavao at the Senior Bowl. They also added rookie free agents including punter James Burnip and running back Marcus Yarns from the Senior Bowl roster. We should expect a big haul in 2026, too.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: Saints assistant Joel Thomas is Senior Bowl head coach
Continue reading...
