Tom Craft | |
Current Title: | Head coach |
Current Team: | Riverside City |
Current Conference: | NSL |
Current Record: | 136–20 |
Birth Date: | November 12, 1953 |
Birth Place: | Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. |
Player Years1: | 1972–1973 |
Player Team1: | Monterey Peninsula |
Player Years2: | 1975–1976 |
Player Team2: | San Diego State |
Player Positions: | Quarterback |
Coach Years1: | 1977–1982 |
Coach Team1: | Palomar (assistant) |
Coach Years2: | 1983–1993 |
Coach Team2: | Palomar |
Coach Years3: | 1994–1996 |
Coach Team3: | San Diego State (OC/QB) |
Coach Years4: | 1997–2001 |
Coach Team4: | Palomar |
Coach Years5: | 2002–2005 |
Coach Team5: | San Diego State |
Coach Years6: | 2007–2009 |
Coach Team6: | Mt. San Antonio (assoc. HC / OC / QB) |
Coach Years7: | 2010–present |
Coach Team7: | Riverside City |
Overall Record: | 19–29 (college) 251–76–1 (junior college) |
Thomas Jay Craft (born November 12, 1953) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at Riverside City College in Riverside, California, a position he had held since 2010. Craft served as the head football coach at San Diego State University from 2002 to 2005 and for two stints at Palomar College in San Marcos, California, from 1983 to 1993 and 1997 to 2001. Craft has also been the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, California.
Under his tenure, San Diego State developed a reputation of playing the tough teams well but lacked consistency and never had a winning season. In 2004, San Diego State lost to Michigan 24–21, and in 2005, where it pushed Ohio State at home, and lost 24–21 to TCU. San Diego State fired Craft at the end of the 2005 season.[1]
Craft is a graduate of Pacific Grove High School, in Pacific Grove, California, and thereafter played quarterback at San Diego State.
After serving as an assistant coach at Palomar from 1977 to 1982 and with the school openly questioning its commitment to football, he took over head coaching duties in 1983. After a pair of 4–6 seasons, the Comets' fortunes began to improve. By the time Craft left the San Marcos school for the Aztec coordinator's job, Palomar was coming off a three-year stretch of 31–2, had an offense ranked among the nation's top five for five consecutive years and was sporting two national championships. Craft compiled an overall record of 115–56 and three national junior college football championships at Palomar.
At Palomar, Craft taught and coached seven All-American quarterbacks, which include: Duffy Daughtery, Scott Barrick, Brett Salisbury, Andy Loveland, Tom Luginbill, Greg Cicero, and Andy Goodenough.