James T. "Long Gone"[1] Thomas (December 18, 1938 – October 4, 2015) was an American gridiron football player and coach.

He played professionally as a running back for nine seasons in the Canadian Football League CFL) with the Edmonton Eskimos.

[2] He signed to the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) in 1970 for a five-game trial, but returned to Edmonton.

After his playing career was over, Thomas earned a master's degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

He coached in college at Southwestern Oklahoma State and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) as well as Noxubee County High School, Houston High School, and in Memphis before winding up at Mississippi Valley State University.