Lawrence Thames is in his first season at Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) as defensive line coach. He is the brother of offensive coordinator Teyon Thames and son of offensive analyst Herb Thames.
Before coming to SAU, Thames held various coaching positions within the local high school ranks. Thames coached at Southeast Raleigh High School where he was the Head Jayvee Football Coach and Varsity Defensive Line Coach from 2013-14. In the 2014-15 season, Thames was the Head Jayvee Football Coach and Varsity Defensive Line Coach at Leesville Road High School. Two of his defensive linemen were named All-Conference and two defensive linemen eventually played in college. From 2015-18 Thames was the Varsity Defensive Line Coach at Heritage High School. During his tenure at Heritage, Thames sent seven defensive linemen to college and five of his players were named All-Conference. One player was named Defensive Player of the Year.
A Raleigh, N.C., resident, Thames attended Vermilion Community College for one year, where he was a Junior College All-American and All-Conference player. Thames went on to play at Elizabeth City State University and Chowan University. After college, Thames had a stint in the Arena Football League.
