Joe Thomas, who went 54-33 over his last nine seasons at Buena after starting 0-21, will be Casa Grande’s new head coach, a move he is making to be closer to his daugther and son in the Chandler area.
Casa Grande athletic director Randy Robbins, a former Arizona football standout, interviewed Thomas to fill the coaching vacancy and has recommended his hire to the Casa Grande School District board. The vacancy occurred after Mark Luna stepped down during the middle of the season, ending his four-year tenure there with a 20-16 record. George Bell was elevated from lead assistant to interim head coach.
Getting approval from the board will be a formality for Thomas.
“The plan is to take over coaching Casa Grande, teach PE and possibly coach some track, but ultimately this is happening to be closer to my kids,” Thomas told AllSportsTucson.com.
Thomas’ daughter Layla is a junior softball player at Chandler Basha and his youngest son Trevyn is a seventh grader who will play football when he reaches high school age.
“God is good; that’s all I can say,” Thomas said. “Things worked out — because I would have been willing to not coach at all — to be closer to my kids. Of course, I needed a job, so then you put in for stuff. I’m glad everything worked out the way it did.
“I love Buena, and I will be rooting for them, but I’m happy with my decision.”
Thomas concluded his 11-year tenure at Buena in November after leading the Colts to their third straight postseason appearance, including a nine-win season in 2024, the program’s most wins since 1977, when the Colts finished 10-1 under Truman Williamson.
The success occurred after Thomas started 0-21 following 0-10 records in 2015 and 2016 and losing the first game of the 2017 season.
He will complete his role as Buena’s track and field coach this spring while also being part of team meetings at Casa Grande.
His oldest son Jayden, a senior at Buena, was a receiver with the Colts. He is also a track standout who is being recruiting to play football in college.
“I’m gonna finish out my contract here at Buena because Jayden’s graduating, so I’m not gonna pull him away,” Thomas said. “I’m gonna coach Jayden and track again. My plan is to get to get some (assistant) coaches (at Casa Grande) lined up up there, so they can start running offseason stuff.
“Realistically, my goal, if it doesn’t interfere with too many of the track meets, is to get up there like once a week, probably like on a Friday, maybe a Thursday, and have a team meeting and get workouts in. We can start installing some things, and then, hit the ground running when track’s over.”
Casa Grande capped a 13-0 season in 2021 with its first official state title.
The Cougars have a traditionally strong program. Before the AIA sanctioned state championship games in 1959, Casa Grande won mythical state titles in 1950, 1953 and 1958. The 1950 and 1953 titles were in Class B, while the 1958 title was in Class A. State champions during that time were determined by a committee based on records.
Robbins starred at Casa Grande before joining Larry Smith’s program as a cornerback at Arizona in 1980. He was an All-American second-team and All-Pac-10 first-team selection as a senior with the Wildcats in 1983. He went on to play in the NFL for nine seasons, including the first eight with the Denver Broncos, who drafted him in the fourth round in 1984. He played in three Super Bowls with the Broncos.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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