Hayden Thomas is in his first season as a member of the Ohio Wesleyan coaching staff. He serves as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Thomas comes to Ohio Wesleyan from Thomas More University, where he was run game coordinator and offensive line coach during the 2024 season.
Prior to his time with the Saints, Thomas spent 7 seasons at Wilmington (Ohio) College, most recently serving as interim head coach. During his last 3 seasons at Wilmington, Thomas was assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, along with coaching the Quaker quarterbacks and tight ends.
In 2023, Thomas oversaw an offense that finished in the top 3 of the Ohio Athletic Conference in multiple categories and achieved historic marks at Wilmington, breaking the school single-game rushing record (384 yards) against Wooster, compiling 658 yards of total offense against Muskingum, and averaging 407.7 yards and 31.8 points per game, neither of which had been accomplished at Wilmington since 1999. Individually, the Quaker quarterback set school single-game and single-season records for touchdown passes and was responsible for an average of 23.2 points per game, which led the OAC and ranked ninth in NCAA Division III. Six offensive players received All-OAC recognition, and Thomas was honored as OAC Assistant Coach of the Year.
During his time at Wilmington, Thomas coached almost every position on offense. He began his stint with the Quakers as tight ends coach and assistant offensive line coach in 2017, then coached running backs and tight ends in 2018 and quarterbacks in 2019. In the spring of 2021, Thomas took over the play-calling duties and the Quakers averaged 379 yards per game during the CoVID-shortened spring season.
Thomas is a 2017 graduate of Bluffton University, where he played 4 seasons as an offensive lineman and was a part of an offense that broke a variety of Beaver all-time records. Thomas majored in sport management and minored in coaching.
He comes from a coaching family, with 2 younger brothers in the profession in Brady, who serves as the Bishops' defensive coordinator, and Quinn, who most recently coached at Utah State. He also is the nephew of Brady Hoke, former head coach at Michigan and San Diego State.
Thomas is a native of Perrysburg, Ohio. He and his wife, Jessie, are expecting their first child in May of 2025.
