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Zach Thomas Retires As A Dolphin
11:22 Thu 05-20-10 | by Andy Kent
Standing on a practice putting green less than a mile from the Miami Dolphins’ training facility earlier this week, Zach Thomas still looked physically fit enough to put on a helmet and shoulder pads and zero in on an opposing running back or receiver.
At the same time, the 36-year-old Texas native who went to seven Pro Bowls at middle linebacker for the Dolphins during his 12 seasons in Miami (1996-2007) had a serene look on his face. Now the father of a four-month-old son, Thomas is more at ease with life after football than he might have been a year ago, and all that was left for him was to put the proper exclamation point on his legendary career by retiring as a Miami Dolphin.
By signing Thomas to a one-day contract today and allowing him to officially retire in the aqua and orange colors, the Dolphins made it possible for him to happily move on to the next phase of his life.
“It’s great timing to have a baby son,” said Thomas, who ranks fourth all-time for Miami in games started and fifth all-time in games played with 168. “He’s four months old, so I’m putting my time in with him. He’s my best friend, so it couldn’t be a better time because you know how myself, with putting in all of that work in with football and being just so focused, I don’t think I’d have time if I had to play football still. So I think it was great timing.”
There is still plenty about the game that Thomas misses, which should not come as a surprise considering how passionate he was on the field. The fact that he was an undersized linebacker thought to be too small to succeed in the National Football League by a number of teams fueled his desire from the moment he was drafted to his final snap. His 1,737 career tackles (1,106 solo) are more than any linebacker currently in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Miami selected Thomas in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft out of Texas Tech and he immediately caught the eye of head coach Jimmy Johnson during his rookie training camp. At 5-foot-11 – which according to some was a generous measurement – Thomas flew all over the field and seemed to never miss a tackle, prompting Johnson to release veteran Jack Del Rio. He reportedly told Del Rio that he was being cut simply because Thomas was better.
Thomas’ final season with the Dolphins in 2007 was a tough one as the team struggled to a 1-15 record and he was forced to miss the last 11 games due to a concussion. He was released prior to the 2008 season early enough to allow him to sign with his hometown Dallas Cowboys, where he enjoyed one more productive season with 94 tackles (65 solo) and a sack in 16 games. His last official stop was Kansas City, where the Chiefs released him before the start of last season.
“You know what I remember best about playing the game wasn’t just the on-the-field work, it was off the field being with the guys because you’re like a family,” Thomas said. “You go to work and you work hard, and the things I miss are the good and the bad. The ups and the downs I feel that you go through pulls you even closer, so the camaraderie of the guys in the locker room and the jokesters, it was a great time. That’s something that I’ll always miss because now it’s not the same. You don’t get up and go to work and see all of those guys, so it’s different. It’s a transition, but that’s the one thing I miss the most.”
Having made his permanent home in South Florida, Thomas remains a diehard fan of the Dolphins and follows them very closely. When he heard that rookie linebacker and fourth-round pick A.J. Edds named him as one of the linebackers he looks up to and would like to emulate, Thomas was flattered, saying, “I tell you what, he can have my number anytime he wants it.”
As for the rest of the offseason moves the Dolphins made, specifically the free agent signing of Karlos Dansby and the trade for wide receiver Brandon Marshall, Thomas sounded very excited.
“Those were great pickups in Dansby and Marshall,” he said. “Both of them are proven guys. As for the draft, you really don’t know until these guys play, but what I’ve heard is nothing but good things. They loaded up on the defensive side, all of those guys are hard-working guys and that’s what I’m excited about. That’s where they needed their help was on the defensive side and I think they’ve done a lot to fill the holes. This is a tough division with New England and the Jets now, but I feel like we have a great shot at winning.”
Now one of the all-time great former Dolphins will be watching closely with his son – and perhaps a future successor.
Zach Thomas Retires As A Dolphin
11:22 Thu 05-20-10 | by Andy Kent
Standing on a practice putting green less than a mile from the Miami Dolphins’ training facility earlier this week, Zach Thomas still looked physically fit enough to put on a helmet and shoulder pads and zero in on an opposing running back or receiver.
At the same time, the 36-year-old Texas native who went to seven Pro Bowls at middle linebacker for the Dolphins during his 12 seasons in Miami (1996-2007) had a serene look on his face. Now the father of a four-month-old son, Thomas is more at ease with life after football than he might have been a year ago, and all that was left for him was to put the proper exclamation point on his legendary career by retiring as a Miami Dolphin.
By signing Thomas to a one-day contract today and allowing him to officially retire in the aqua and orange colors, the Dolphins made it possible for him to happily move on to the next phase of his life.
“It’s great timing to have a baby son,” said Thomas, who ranks fourth all-time for Miami in games started and fifth all-time in games played with 168. “He’s four months old, so I’m putting my time in with him. He’s my best friend, so it couldn’t be a better time because you know how myself, with putting in all of that work in with football and being just so focused, I don’t think I’d have time if I had to play football still. So I think it was great timing.”
There is still plenty about the game that Thomas misses, which should not come as a surprise considering how passionate he was on the field. The fact that he was an undersized linebacker thought to be too small to succeed in the National Football League by a number of teams fueled his desire from the moment he was drafted to his final snap. His 1,737 career tackles (1,106 solo) are more than any linebacker currently in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Miami selected Thomas in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft out of Texas Tech and he immediately caught the eye of head coach Jimmy Johnson during his rookie training camp. At 5-foot-11 – which according to some was a generous measurement – Thomas flew all over the field and seemed to never miss a tackle, prompting Johnson to release veteran Jack Del Rio. He reportedly told Del Rio that he was being cut simply because Thomas was better.
Thomas’ final season with the Dolphins in 2007 was a tough one as the team struggled to a 1-15 record and he was forced to miss the last 11 games due to a concussion. He was released prior to the 2008 season early enough to allow him to sign with his hometown Dallas Cowboys, where he enjoyed one more productive season with 94 tackles (65 solo) and a sack in 16 games. His last official stop was Kansas City, where the Chiefs released him before the start of last season.
“You know what I remember best about playing the game wasn’t just the on-the-field work, it was off the field being with the guys because you’re like a family,” Thomas said. “You go to work and you work hard, and the things I miss are the good and the bad. The ups and the downs I feel that you go through pulls you even closer, so the camaraderie of the guys in the locker room and the jokesters, it was a great time. That’s something that I’ll always miss because now it’s not the same. You don’t get up and go to work and see all of those guys, so it’s different. It’s a transition, but that’s the one thing I miss the most.”
Having made his permanent home in South Florida, Thomas remains a diehard fan of the Dolphins and follows them very closely. When he heard that rookie linebacker and fourth-round pick A.J. Edds named him as one of the linebackers he looks up to and would like to emulate, Thomas was flattered, saying, “I tell you what, he can have my number anytime he wants it.”
As for the rest of the offseason moves the Dolphins made, specifically the free agent signing of Karlos Dansby and the trade for wide receiver Brandon Marshall, Thomas sounded very excited.
“Those were great pickups in Dansby and Marshall,” he said. “Both of them are proven guys. As for the draft, you really don’t know until these guys play, but what I’ve heard is nothing but good things. They loaded up on the defensive side, all of those guys are hard-working guys and that’s what I’m excited about. That’s where they needed their help was on the defensive side and I think they’ve done a lot to fill the holes. This is a tough division with New England and the Jets now, but I feel like we have a great shot at winning.”
Now one of the all-time great former Dolphins will be watching closely with his son – and perhaps a future successor.