SAVANNAH, Ga.- The Thomas Howard era of Savannah State football has officially begun.

Howard was named the 28th head football coach in the history of the program on December 22, 2025 and his first official day on the job was January 5, 2026.

The 44-year old Riverdale, Georgia native was introduced to the campus and Savannah community on Thursday afternoon at his introductory press conference which was held at the university's Student Union Building.

Howard comes to Savannah State with a extensive resume that has landed him eight different coaching jobs in seven states.

Most recently, he served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Fayetteville State where he helped guide the Broncos to a 6–1 record in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association play. His defense ranked among the nation's best, finishing top 15 in rushing defense, top five in sacks, and top 10 in tackles for loss, while leading the CIAA in all four categories, including interceptions. 

SSU president Dr. Jermaine Whirl said that the campus and community is excited about the leadership transition and that the search process went well.

In explaining the background of the hiring process, Dr. Whirl said that they were excited.

"We are excited because we had a thorough process and we believe we got the right guy for the right job at the right time."

He went on to say that they assembled a good member search committee. "It's a group of internal individuals that represents our students, athletes, booster club, alumni and community members."

Dr. Whirl, who chaired the committee along with SSU athletics director Opio Mashariki, said that 93 people applied for the job. The list of applicants included coaches from all levels of football such as high school, Division III, Division II, FBS, FCS and even one with NFL experience.

"He came through a gauntlet of qualified individuals. We narrowed that down to eight and brought three to campus for face to face."

In introducing Howard, Mashariki stated that "Its a exciting moment. It was a swift process but we dug ion deep. We got the best person for this job."

In his opening statement, Howard gave honor to God and added that "this has been a long path but I'm so blessed to be here. People talk about dream jobs all the time. This truly is a dream come true for me."

Howard thanked the SSU president, athletics director, his family and friends for being with him during this process.

Among those in the audience with his parents and other family members was his fiance, Kimberly Mitchell, who he plans to marry in April 2026.

He also acknowledged football coaches who he mentored him throughout his years as a player and a coach such as Anthony Jones, his head coach at Morehouse; Sherman Simmons, his position coach at Morehouse and the man who gave him his first coaching at at Allen; Dr. George Mihalik from Slippery Rock; Nathan Cochran from Lincoln, Missouri; Rob Keys, who he worked with at Findlay and now the special teams coach at Ohio State; Rod Broadway and Sam Washington from North Carolina A&T; Connell Maynor from Alabama A&M; Buddy Pough from South Carolina State; and Richard Hayes from Fayetteville State.

Howard said that Savannah has great seafood SSU's location is phenomenal and hopes to take full advantage of that when recruiting.

"There are so many great football havens right here. In the city of Savannah there is some great football. You have some state champions right here in the city of Savannah so for us not to get the young men that are right here is crazy. We have to make sure we get them on campus so that they can see what we have to offer."

When laying out his vision, Howard wants his teams to dominate the day, have discipline and play with fundamentals and technique.

Howard added that his three ingredients for success on the field include stopping the run, being able to run the ball and win the kicking game.

Winning is not only done on the playing field but also with the alumni and in the community.

Howard wants SSU alumni and especially the football alumni to get back into the fold to support the program.

"We need you. we need your assistance. We want you around. We want you back in the program and back hanging around."

Howard expects the community to play a big role as well.

"We need the community to help us. We have to work together as a community to let the recruits know that we have a good product to offer."

Howard also challenged Tiger alumni, employees and the Savannah community to support the team by purchasing season tickets. "just because I'm telling you to buy season tickets, they first thing I'm going to do is buy season tickets. Help us build this program to what we want it to be."

A former standout defensive back at Morehouse College, Howard was a two-time team captain and graduated cum laude with a degree in early childhood development in 2003. Howard has one daughter, Nyla, and one son, Wade.

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