SEC Sports Talk

[RJ Trotts]

John Thompson
Football Assistant Coach
Assistant Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
Alma Mater: Central Arkansas (1978)

Ole Miss head football coach Ed Orgeron announced that veteran defensive coordinator John Thompson is joining his Rebel coaching staff in that same capacity. Orgeron has been his own defensive coordinator during his first two years as head coach at Ole Miss.
The appointment is pending approval of the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning.

“Our relationship goes back to 1983 when I was a player at Northwestern (La.) State and he was the defensive coordinator,” Orgeron said, also noting that he then worked as a graduate assistant under Thompson in 1984.

“He’s been a successful defensive coordinator in the Southeastern Conference and is highly respected by his peers,” Orgeron said. “He brings energy and a vast knowledge to our staff, and I’m happy to have John and his family joining Ole Miss.”

Thompson, 51, is joining Ole Miss from his alma mater, the University of Central Arkansas, where he has been the athletics director since last May. Thompson was hired last year to lead the UCA athletic program in its first year as an NCAA Division I program. UCA moved to Division I and joined the Southland Conference on July 1, 2006. Prior to accepting the athletics director position, Thompson had enjoyed a 24-year coaching career.

“I am very thankful to UCA and to Ole Miss for this opportunity,” Thompson said. “I’ve enjoyed this job (athletics director) very much, and I’m excited about joining Coach Orgeron at Ole Miss. I believe we can do great things there. Ole Miss has a great tradition and I’m honored to be able to join their team there and be a part of it.”

“John Thompson was an excellent athletic director and I hate to see him leave UCA,” said UCA President Lu Hardin. “However, this is an extraordinary opportunity and I am personally happy for Coach Thompson.”

Recognized as a top defensive mind, Thompson brings to Ole Miss experience from five Southeastern Conference schools ­ Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, LSU and South Carolina. He also served two years (2003-04) as head coach at East Carolina University. While he was with the Pirates, he coached three first-team All-Conference USA players and had seven players chosen to the Freshman All-Conference team.

As a defensive coordinator, Thompson's units led their respective conferences in total defense three different times. Twenty-eight of his defensive players were drafted or signed with National Football League teams, 40 earned all-conference honors, five were named All-America, and one -- former Northwestern State linebacker Gary Reasons -- has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Thompson served as the defensive coordinator at Florida, Arkansas, LSU, Memphis, Southern Mississippi, Louisiana Tech and Northwestern State, and co-defensive coordinator at South Carolina.

A native of Forrest City, Ark., Thompson began his coaching career in the high school ranks in 1977 while pursuing his bachelor's degree at UCA. He graduated from UCA in 1978 and continued to coach high school football until moving on to the college ranks at the University of Arkansas as a graduate assistant for then-head coach Lou Holtz in 1982.

Thompson was the defensive coordinator at Northwestern State from 1983-86. He went to Alabama to coach the linebackers for Bill Curry in 1987 before returning to Northwestern State for the 1988 and '89 seasons. In 1990, he became defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech and in his two seasons there his defense ranked No. 8 nationally in rushing defense, No. 19 in scoring defense and No. 23 in total defense.

He was the mastermind behind the dominant Southern Mississippi defense of the mid-1990s as he took over as defensive coordinator for the Golden Eagles in 1992 and was given the additional title of assistant head coach in 1993. He remained with that program until 1998. Along the way, Southern Miss won or shared two Conference USA titles, ranked among the top 25 nationally in scoring defense twice and made two bowl appearances.

He had comparable accomplishments in 1999 as defensive coordinator at Memphis as his Tiger defense ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense and 20th in total defense.

In December, 1999, Thompson made his move to the SEC when he was named Nick Saban's first defensive coordinator at LSU. Afforded with the opportunity to move back to his home state, Thompson was co-defensive coordinator at Arkansas in 2000, as the Razorbacks were second in the nation in pass defense and led the SEC in both pass defense and total defense. As the sole defensive coordinator in 2001, Thompson helped lead Arkansas to the 2002 Cotton Bowl.

Thompson was appointed defensive coordinator at Florida in 2002 and the Gators advanced to the Outback Bowl against Michigan. Allowing just 162.4 passing yards per game, his Florida pass defense ranked seventh in the nation and was the best by a Gator team since 1989.

Thompson's playing career includes time as a prep quarterback at Forrest City High School and two seasons as a defensive back at Central Arkansas. Thompson and his wife, Charleen, have two sons, Cabe and Hays.