Log in

WEST VALLEY PREPS

Liberty hires Colin Thomas as new football coach

Posted 4/1/20

thigs came full circle.

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor
WEST VALLEY PREPS

Liberty hires Colin Thomas as new football coach

Posted

In May 2015, newly-promoted Liberty football coach Mark Smith .hired offensive coordinator Colin Thomas from the same role at Dover (Del.) High School.

Nearly five years later, things have come full circle. Smith resigned in early March so he could accept the head coaching job at Shelton High School, his alma mater, on the western edge of the Puget Sound in Washington.

On April 1, Liberty announced Thomas, 35, as the Lions new head coach on Twitter. The continued growth of Liberty and its offense made him a named bandied about for several coaching openings in the winter.

Then the ideal job opened up at home. 

“It is always been a goal of mine to be a head coach. I have really enjoyed my five years at Liberty, working with Coach Smith, the staff and players so I wanted to make sure it was the right situation if I was going to take another job," Thomas stated in an email interview. "In the end, I was very thankful that it worked out where I could have this opportunity and stay at Liberty,” Thomas said.

He inherited a program coming off its first 6A state title. The only remaining frontier is making the eight-team elite open division in 2020, its second year.

Thomas also takes over a squad that loses 40 seniors. On the flip side, how many high school communities these days are enthralled with football enough to produce a 40-player senior class?

"The thing that I have come to appreciate the most is how much our kids and community care and support football. Our community takes great pride in football and is a special place to be," Thomas stated.

Smith replaced Dan Filleman when the school's founding coach and offensive coordinator left for a job in Colorado. Thomas took the reins of the offense.

Thomas said Smith was able to create a great culture that the staff and players believed in. Being a part of the program and being able to help carry out the program's core values was a benefit for the young coach moving forward.
 

"We will continue to believe in our Code Red mentality," Thomas stated. "Coach Smith is my mentor and one of my best friends in this world. I am honored to succeed him and lead our young men."

In five seasons as head coach, Smith led the Lions to a 42-19 record and its first state title.

On Dec. 6 Liberty beat top seed Mesa Red Mountain 34-28 in overtime at Sun Devil Stadium to take home the 6A big gold ball.

"I had it really good at Liberty. It's a premiere job in the state," Smith said on March 12, the day he was introduced as Shelton's new coach.

Thomas said he is well aware of the expectations at the largest and newest school in the football-rich Peoria Unified School District.

"It is our plan to stay one of the top programs in the state and give ourselves an opportunity to play and win big football games. Each and every year the bar gets raised and we want to embrace that challenge," Thomas stated. "Liberty football will continue to play a physical, attacking, up-tempo style of play. Our young men will take the field every Friday night expecting to win a football game."

The Lions offense took off in 2017, averaging 44 points per game as Liberty reached the 5A semifinals. Moving to 6A, the team averaged 39 points in 2018, and 36 in its title season.

In the announcement of his hire, Liberty athletic director Aaron Coughanour stated that Thomas has played a vital role in the team's success during the five years that he was the offensive coordinator.

"Colin is an excellent leader of the young men in our program. He has built solid relationships with the athletes, their families and the community. He is passionate and works extremely hard putting in the countless hours to get our program to be successful," Coughanour stated in an email Thursday morning. "The players respect and love Coach Thomas and were very excited to hear he was named the new head coach! He will have great success and we are looking forward to the upcoming season."

Before he takes over on-field, Thomas joins other coaches around the state with a sidelined school and team in the face of the early end of the 2019-20 school year spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Yes, things are not ideal in the fact that we can not see our team and follow our training program. Like I am sure many other teams are doing, we are trying to use various online platforms to stay in contact with our players,” Thomas stated. “In these crazy times, our main focus is for our players to stay safe, know that we are here for them and to stay connected with them.”