THE LIFE & ILLUSTRIOUS NFL CAREER OF CHIEFS LB DERRICK THOMAS (1967-2000)

Feb 08, 2005, 10:08:10 AM by Pete Moris

Editor’s Note: Five years ago today, the National Football League and the entire Kansas City community suffered a great loss. In rememberance of the late Derrick Thomas on the five-year anniversary of his death, we are sharing with Chiefs fans a retrospective on his career than ran on our site on February 8, 2000. While time has passed, Derrick’s memory still burns brightly for those of us who knew him at One Arrowhead Drive, making these sentiments as relevant today as they were five years ago.  

- A Tribute to #58

Derrick Thomas passed away in his hometown of Miami, Florida at 10:10 AM (EST) today, but his effervescent personality, his unforgettable smile, his unbridled spirit and his unquenchable thirst for life will live on. Thomas, who was involved in a serious automobile accident near Kansas City International Airport on January 23, suffered a cardiac arrest this morning and resuscitation efforts at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital proved unsuccessful. Thomas turned 33 years old on January 1, 2000.

“It’s a devastating tragedy to the Kansas City Chiefs family, the people of Kansas City, the fans of the National Football League and to me personally,” said Chiefs President Carl Peterson. “Derrick Thomas has been such an important part of the Chiefs family for the past 11 years. He has done so much for this team and our city during his time with us. He had so much love for the game, for his teammates and for our town. Our prayers go out to Derrick’s family, to his fellow teammates and to our fans who knew Derrick. A light has gone out.”

Designated by former President George Bush as his “832nd Point of Light” for his efforts in the Kansas City community, Thomas not only was a bonafide NFL star in terms of his contributions on the field, but more importantly, but he also illuminated the lives the countless individuals he touched through his Third and Long Foundation and other charitable endeavors.

Thomas received the National Football League’s most prestigious honor when he was named the 1993 Edge NFL Man of the Year for his community activities. Among Thomas’ many other notable philanthropic honors, in June of ‘95 he was the winner of the Bryon “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award for his service to his team, his community and his country. In ‘94 he received the Genuine Heroes Award given by Trinity College in Chicago.

The son of Air Force captain, Robert Thomas, the Chiefs linebacker was just five years old when his father’s plane was shot down while it was returning from a mission in Vietnam on December 17, 1972, codenamed “Operation: Linebacker Two.” A longtime supporter of a variety of veterans’ causes, Thomas gave the keynote speech at the Memorial Day services conducted at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in ‘93. Former speakers at that ceremony have included Vice President Al Gore, General Colin Powell and former Pittsburgh Steeler Rocky Bleier. In August of ‘99, Thomas received the prestigious Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall of Fame Award at the 100th VFW National Convention in Kansas City. Thomas received that honor in large part due to his support of Operation Uplink, a program which provided prepaid phonecards to active duty U.S. troops and veterans across the globe. Thomas had frequently flown and trained with Air Force pilots and was scheduled to participate in another training session with the Air Force later this spring.

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Derrick Thomas Tribute Video

Derrick Thomas Tribute

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Derrick Thomas Tribute
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After a stellar prep tenure at South Miami (Florida) High School, Thomas went on to an All-America career at the University of Alabama, where he won the ‘88 Butkus Award as the best linebacker in collegiate football and was a consensus All-America selection.

Thomas joined the Chiefs family as Kansas City’s first-round selection (fourth overall) in the ‘89 NFL Draft. After wearing #55 in college, he donned #58 for the Chiefs, a number which would soon become synonymous with defensive excellence, symbolized by Thomas’ signature sack and strip move.

“This is a beginning for Marty, myself and the Chiefs,” Chiefs President Carl Peterson said upon selecting Thomas in ‘89.

It was not only the beginning of Thomas’ NFL career, it was a rebirth for a Chiefs franchise which had made just playoff appearance since ‘71, the last year the club won an AFC West division title. He earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and the Chiefs Mack Lee Hill Award with 10.0 sacks in ‘89. He also merited the first of his nine consecutive Pro Bowl berths, becoming the first Kansas City rookie to make the Pro Bowl since RB Joe Delaney in ‘81 and the first Chiefs outside linebacker to earn a spot in that game since Pro Football Hall of Famer Bobby Bell in ‘73.

Kansas City would then make the playoffs in just Thomas’ second season in ‘90, when he led the NFL with 20.0 sacks, the fifth-highest single-season total in NFL annals. One of Thomas’ finest moments came during that ‘90 season when he set a league single-game record with 7.0 sacks in a contest against the Seattle Seahawks. Appropriately, that contest came on Veteran’s Day, November 11th. The Chiefs lost that game 17-16 as an eighth sack slipped through his grasp as QB Dave Krieg escaped to hit WR Paul Skansi for the game-winning 25-yard TD on the game’s final play. Although upset over the loss, Thomas maintained his usual sense of levity after that contest.

“I was on a mission today,” he said following the game. “I read in the paper that Derrick Thomas was in a sack slump.”

Such slumps were rare during Thomas’ career as he led the club in sacks each of his first four seasons in the Red and Gold. In ‘91, he became the first linebacker in Chiefs history to earn the team’s MVP award. It was in that same year that Thomas founded “The Third and Long Foundation,” a nationally-renowned reading program for inner-city youths in Kansas City. His contagious enthusiasm sparked the imaginations of countless young students throughout Chiefs Country.

While Thomas was firmly cementing his place as a philanthropist in the Kansas City community, the Miami native was also set on engraving his name as one of the finest to ever play the linebacker position. In ‘93, Thomas helped lead the Chiefs to their first AFC West title since ‘71 as Kansas City made a remarkable playoff march – upsetting the red-hot Houston Oilers who had won 11 straight games – to advance to the first AFC Championship Game in the franchise’s history. It was that same season that Thomas earned the NFL’s Man of the Year Award. The next season, Thomas earned Chiefs MVP honors for the second time, as Kansas City advanced to the postseason for the fifth consecutive season.

“For me, my goals are a lot higher than just being a successful linebacker or being All-Pro,” Thomas said after the ‘94 campaign. “When my career is over, I want people to look back and view me as the best, or one of the two best to ever play the position.”

There was no question that the individual Thomas viewed as the best to ever play the position was N.Y. Giants Hall of Famer, Lawrence Taylor. D.T. frequently hypothesized about how his career would stack up against that of the “other” linebacker who was known on an initials-only basis, L.T.

“Well, I don’t know if you can really categorize L.T. as a true linebacker because L.T. never dropped in coverage,” Thomas chuckled during one such conversation in ‘94. “L.T. never covered anybody, but that wasn’t his thing. His job was to blitz and to create havoc. L.T. went about things in his own way and he was very successful at it.”

Actually, Thomas’ numbers compare quite favorably to Taylor’s. In 13 seasons with the Giants from ‘81-93, L.T. played in 184 games, producing 132.5 sacks and 10 Pro Bowl berths. In 11 seasons with the Chiefs, Thomas played in 126.5 sacks and nine Pro Bowl appearances. However, it was in the turnover department where D.T. truly overshadows his counterpart, L.T. Thomas established Chiefs records with 45 forced fumbles, 19 fumble recoveries, four TDs and three safeties during his career, compared to 33 forced fumbles, 12 fumble recoveries, two TDs and no safeties for Taylor.

Although he produced just 8.0 sacks in ‘95, that year may have marked the crowning moment of Thomas’ gridiron tenure. Under new defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham, the Chiefs defense led by Thomas was simply stifling. Kansas City led the NFL is scoring defense (15.1 ppg), TDs allowed (23) and yards per play (4.3), while ranking second in total defense by permitting just 284.3 yards per game.

The Chiefs finished the year with a franchise-best 13-3 regular season record, capping that performance with a 26-3 thrashing of Seattle in the regular season finale, permitting the Seahawks just 89 yards of total offense in the game, the lowest tally in franchise history. Following the game, Thomas along with longtime friend and teammate Neil Smith emerged from the locker room for a parade lap around the stadium to celebrate another AFC West title. Bearing a Chiefs flag in his hands, it was yet another fitting salute from Thomas to Kansas City’s ravenous fans who loved him so much. Although the Chiefs fell 10-7 in a hard-fought AFC Divisional Playoff loss to the upstart Indianapolis Colts two weeks later, the ‘95 season solidified Kansas City’s defense as one of the finest in league history.

In ‘97, the Chiefs and Thomas were back to their dominating ways once again as Kansas City again captured the AFC West crown with another 13-3 regular season record. In a thrilling 24-22 win over the Denver Broncos on November 16th of that year at Arrowhead, Thomas reached another milestone in his illustrious career, getting career sack number 100.0 in that contest. Appropriately, that sack came against John Elway, the adversary Thomas had sacked more times than any other prior to last year.

“To document it in the record books that the 100th came on Elway makes it more special because John is one of the best to ever play the game,” Thomas said afterwards.

Upon learning of Thomas’ untimely death today, Elway honored his fallen foe, who he had so valiantly battled so many times.

“Derrick the football player was a powerful competitor with remarkable talent and aptitude. He epitomized the heart, courage and spirit it takes to be an outstanding player,” Elway said. “More importantly, Derrick Thomas the man was a philanthropist who gave so much to his family and his community.”

While the Chiefs would miss the playoffs in ‘98, Thomas simply added to his legacy as a player who could single-handedly take over the course of a game. In the ‘98 season-opener at Arrowhead vs. Oakland, he threatened to break his own NFL record by sacking QB Jeff George 6.0 times as the Chiefs throttled their archrivals 28-8. Although there would be few other highlights in a 7-9 season, Thomas saved one last surprise for his friends in the Silver and Black, recording his fourth and final career touchdown on a 44-yard fumble return in the regular season finale at Oakland on December 26th. Kansas City would win that game 31-24, but it would mark the final game of the 10-year Chiefs tenure of head coach Marty Schottenheimer, a man whom Thomas admired so much.

“Derrick Thomas spent his entire professional career in Kansas City and it was my good fortune to coach him all but one year,” Schottenheimer said today. “Arriving in Kansas City as a young man of 22, he distinguished himself not only athletically, but also as a caring and giving person.”

In his final season with the Chiefs in ‘99, Thomas continued his giving ways, both on and off the field. He held the club in sacks for a seventh time with 7.0 QB takedowns, finishing his career with 126.5 sacks, the ninth-highest total in league history and a Chiefs record. He also concluded his career owning franchise records for career safeties (3), forced fumbles (45) and fumble recoveries (19), while ranking fifth on the club’s all-time tackle chart (728). But perhaps Thomas’ most cherished stat from the ‘99 season was his first career interception, which had eluded him for the first 10 years of his pro career. That pickoff came in a 34-0 shutout of the Chargers on October 31st, as the Chiefs defense stirred memories of its dominating past.

After Cunningham, his defensive coordinator of four years was promoted to the club’s head coaching post, it was Thomas who delivered the game ball following Cunningham’s first regular season win with the club, a 26-10 win vs. Denver at Arrowhead on September 19th.

“He hasn’t come back down to Earth yet,” D.T. said of Cunningham following the game. As soon as he comes back down, I’ll let you know how he’s doing.”

And despite suffering serious injuries in a traffic accident on January 23rd of this year, until the very end, it was Thomas who was always concerned about how others were doing, including another beloved head coach, Gunther Cunningham.

“The last time I talked to Derrick, it was halftime of the Super Bowl,” said an emotional Cunningham today. “I saw all of the guys out there for the coin toss with the number 58 on their chests. I saw some fans in the stands wearing Derrick’s jersey, so Carl and I called him. I wasn’t doing real well at the time and Derrick said, ‘Coach, be strong.’ He never told me how strong I had to be.”

Strength.

Derrick Thomas was undoubtedly one of the strongest players the Chiefs, the NFL, or the entire game of football has ever known.

Strength.

Derrick Thomas was unquestionably one of the strongest, most giving and most caring men the Kansas City community has ever embraced.

“Coach, be strong.”

Derrick Thomas the man, Derrick Thomas the player, Derrick Thomas our friend would have wanted us to be strong right now.

So our beloved “D”, what else can we do?

You know none of us could ever say “no” to you.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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A 15-year veteran of the Chiefs, Moris is the associate director of public relations for the team and contributes an in-depth examination of each upcoming game Tuesdays in-season.