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Greene County offensive coordinator during a 7-on-7 camp held at Social Circle High School in June of 2022. LANCE McCURLEY/Staff
The Greene County football program has a special place in Chris Thomas’ heart as he began his high school coaching career in 2018 as an assistant under former head coach Larry Milligan.
Thomas then spent the next two years serving as a coordinator at Laney High before returning to Greene County, where he was named offensive coordinator under first-year head coach Terrance Banks in 2022.
Now, after one season of calling plays for the Tigers, he is moving on again, but this time as a head coach. Thomas was announced as the new head coach at Augusta Christian School on Feb. 28.
Thomas loves Greene County and the people in the community made him feel welcome.
“Greene County holds a special place in my heart,” Thomas said. “Ever since I came here in 2018, these people have opened their arms up to me and treated me like I was one of their own, especially coach (James) Miller, who was my PE (Physical Education) teacher in elementary school back in Augusta. So, Greene County will always be my home away from home. It’s not too far.”
Thomas also told the Lake Oconee News that he’s excited to be returning to his hometown of Augusta.
“I had a few different people reach out to me via social media and text message about the job at Augusta Christian being open, and wanted to know what I thought about it,” Thomas said. “They wanted my take on it, so I gave them my outlook on the program and talked to different people about it.”
After speaking with school officials, Thomas interviewed and ended up getting a few weeks later.
“Just knowing they’ve had a few winning seasons and had a lot of kids go off to play college football, whether it was Power Five or all the way down to Division III. It’s been a pretty good program,” Thomas said. “When I spoke to people that are very close to the program, they were talking about how Augusta Christian was ready to make that transition to make football more serious, be more committed.
"Getting a coach that is going to be on campus all day. I just prayed about it. After being a coordinator for eight-plus years and an interim coach at Laney, I felt like it was time.”
Thomas has a pedigree of helping rebuild high school programs, but most specifically, his alma mater, Laney. He served as the offensive coordinator at Laney from 2020-21. The Wildcats struggled in those two seasons, although they reached the GHSA Class AA state playoffs in 2021.
The Augusta native then returned to Greene County, where he helped the Tigers reach the playoffs this past season, which was the first time since 2018 when Milligan served as head coach.
In 2022, Greene County’s offense averaged 25.3 points per game under the direction of Thomas. The Tigers had sophomore quarterback Steve Miller throw for over 1,500 yards and 20 TDs in 2022.
Greene County senior running back Malik West also rushed for 1,000-plus yards and nine scores, and junior wide receiver Javaris Harris hauled in 54 receptions for over 1,000 yards and 10 TDs as well.
Thomas highlighted that he enjoyed working under Banks for the past season while at Greene County.
“Working with coach Banks, he’s a guy that is very big on numbers and statistics,” he said. “Just how he goes about putting plays together, piecing them together, that was great to learn up under him. Also, the kids up here are great. Greene County is going to be solid for the next two to three years.”
Thomas’ coaching career started at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina in 2012. Two years later, he moved on to Benedict College in Colombia, South Carolina from 2014-18. Thomas served as the run/passing-game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Tigers.
In 2018-19, he was the wide receivers coach at Greene County. He was part of Larry Milligan’s staff when the Tigers made a deep run in 2018 to the quarterfinals round of the Class A state playoffs.
Thomas said Milligan had a “huge impact” on him while he was at GCHS during his previous stint.
“He gave me my first high school job coming from the collegiate level,” Thomas said. “He’s a great guy, man. I learned so much under him. He was a phenomenal coach and phenomenal mentor for me. Definitely got to give him a lot of credit for making me the coach I am today. Some of his principles and his philosophy, he’s a tough coach, man. A lot of thanks goes out to him.”
Thomas said he’s sad to be leaving Greene County again but is chasing his dreams of being a head coach.
“I felt like this was a great opportunity to put on my resume, and also to let people know I am capable of being able to lead my own team,” Thomas stated. “When you are talking about interviewing for some of the bigger jobs here in Georgia, they want guys with head coaching experience. So, I thought this was a great opportunity to go to Augusta Christian and not only win but build this program up to where it’s a nationally-ranked powerhouse. That’s my ultimate goal.”