PINE BLUFF -- Introduced as a head football coach for the first time in his career, Cedric Thomas addressed the crowd of nearly 100 in a conference room at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
"Y'all got to excuse these tears, now," he said Wednesday afternoon, shifting behind the podium. "They call me the crybaby coach 'cause I get emotional."
Thomas, a UAPB alum who played cornerback from 1998-1999, had spent the previous six seasons as a defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Alcorn State. The Braves won Southwestern Athletic Conference titles in 2014 and 2015.
Thomas signed a four-year, $150,000 per year contract that includes other incentives and expires Nov. 30, 2021.
UAPB selected Thomas from "approximately 70 applicants," according to Athletic Director Lonza Hardy Jr. The decision came a week after the three finalists, including Thomas, spoke before a similar crowd of administrators, alumni and supporters while answering questions.
Henderson State University Coach Scott Maxfield signed a five-year contract extension after his UAPB appearance, and Grambling State offensive coordinator Eric Dooley was named the head coach at Prairie View A&M.
Hardy said he didn't think making the finalists public "really played a role" in either case, and he dismissed the perception that Thomas was chosen because he was the only finalist left.
"He wasn't the third choice," Hardy said. "He was one of the three. And either of those three, we felt, could have come in and done a great job."
Hardy said Thomas' passion and familiarity with the program helped him stand out as a candidate, but the SWAC championships were the deciding variable.
"Part of the job description was someone who comes from a winning background," Hardy said, "and he comes from a winning background as a defensive coordinator at one of the power teams in our conference."
Alcorn's scoring defense (21.8 points allowed per game) ranked third in the SWAC last season, and the Braves finished 7-5 after losing 40-32 to Grambling State in the conference championship game.
A native of Cleveland, Miss., Thomas began his coaching career as an assistant at Alcorn State in 2001, and he coached running backs at the University of Tennessee-Martin in 2002. He was a defensive assistant at Itawamba Community College from 2005-2006, and he served as co-defensive coordinator at Mississippi Delta Community College from 2006-2012.
"Thanks for taking a chance on this first-[time] coach," Thomas said. "Just know now that the last five championships were won by first-[time] coaches. So don't be alarmed."
Grambling State's Broderick Fobbs won consecutive SWAC titles in 2016-2017 after he earned his first head coaching job in 2014; Jay Hopson led Alcorn State to consecutive SWAC titles in 2014-2015 after he earned his first head coaching job in 2012; and Dawson Odums led Southern to a 2013 SWAC title in his first season.
Thomas said he hasn't named anyone to his staff, but he said he'll bring in coaches that are from "non-SWAC" programs and some that are "in-conference programs."
"The biggest thing is to hit the ground running as it relates to recruiting," he said.
UAPB did not sign anyone during the NCAA's early signing period, which was from Dec. 20-22. The next signing period begins on Feb. 7.
A question-and-answer session followed Thomas' introduction, and one attendee asked him about his recruiting strategy.
"Well, the biggest thing is homegrown talent," Thomas said to applause. "We gotta hit the local talent. My vision recruiting-wise is to draw a circle around a map, a five-hour radius, and hit those spots."
Thomas replaces former coach Monte Coleman, whose contract will expire Sunday after the Golden Lions went 40-71 in his 10-year tenure. UAPB had five consecutive losing seasons after it won the 2012 SWAC championship.
Lloyd Franklin, 65, a 1976 UAPB graduate, asked Thomas how long it would be until "we have a winning program."
"It depends on what you consider winning," Thomas said. "Are we talking about ..."
"Winning football games," Franklin interrupted.
"W's and L's," Thomas continued. "Or you talking about the numerical, when the scoreboard ends, the person having the highest score? Cause technically, you don't have to have the highest score, but you can still win. So are we talking about raising our hands as our score's higher or are we changing a culture as it relates to that type of wins and losses?"
"Both of them," Franklin said. "We want a winning football team."
"You'll get it," Thomas said.
"Thank you," Franklin said. "It's like you were throwing a pass to me. I'll catch it."
Laughter followed.
Thomas later said the most difficult thing about changing UAPB into a winning culture was "changing the mindset" -- something he said he experienced at Alcorn.
"I was part of a program that came in after a team that went 2-8," he said. "And I went 4-7. So the biggest thing is changing the mindset. Implement things through practice and workouts to get them to understand a winning mindset, a winning culture."
On the day he was dismissed, Coleman said one of UAPB's issues was that it had not yet reached the 63 maximum scholarships the football program is permitted each year.
Hardy acknowledged the scholarship issue, and he said the football team had 31 scholarship players when he was hired in 2011, 36 on the 2012 SWAC title team, and due to fundraisers in the past two years, the football team had 61 scholarship players this season.
Thomas addressed the issue in his statement to the UAPB crowd.
"I need your support," he said. I need your financial support. I need your spiritual support. I need your social support. Your physical support. I need it.
"Let's get ready for a hell of a run, and a hell of a journey and return this brand into the way that it's supposed to be."
Sports on 12/28/2017