Spencer Fano Joe Thomas
Spencer Fano Joe Thomas
The Browns hope Spencer Fano is their next great tackle, and want their last one, Joe Thomas, to help coach him up. In fact, it appears that he has a standing offer from HC Todd Monken to join the coaching staff. Perhaps he will, one day, but for now, he will evidently pop in sporadically and dispense his pellets of wisdom.
A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Joe Thomas made the Pro Bowl his first 10 seasons, playing 11 in total. In his final season in 2017, he suffered an injury in his seventh game and afterwards opted to retire. Also an eight-time All-Pro, he is widely, and rightly, regarded as one of the best to ever play. In that regard, the Browns’ newest first-round tackle, Spencer Fano, has a lot to live up to.
The Browns drafted Fano ninth overall in April, and he is on pace to be a plug-and-play starter. Thomas has spent time in training camp with the team and has evidently worked with the rookie. Asked about that relationship yesterday, Todd Monken made clear it was very intentional.
“When I was interviewing for the [Browns’ head coaching] job, and then when I got the job, I had reached out to Joe [Thomas]”, Monken said, via the Browns’ website. “I said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a spot for you if you want to help us coach’. He said, ‘I’d love to coach, but I don’t think I want to commit to an every-day contract’. I said, ‘That’s fine. Anytime you want to come out here and help our guys, you’re more than welcome. And we certainly would welcome that”.
Especially when it comes to Thomas potentially helping Fano, whom they hope is their franchise left tackle for at least as long as Thomas was. Were it not injured—or were the Browns simply better—Thomas may have played longer.
Despite the Browns’ ineptitude, Thomas remains loyal to the organization and works as a broadcaster in the meanwhile. Perhaps one day he will be a member of the coaching staff, and he will have ready-made credibility. Spencer Fano already has a respected offensive line coach, though, in George Warhop.
Warhop will coach Fano, and he coached Thomas for a good chunk of his career. Working for the Browns from 2009 through 2013, he helped keep Thomas on his All-Pro trajectory. Most recently, he worked with the Ravens, helping elevate Tyler Linderbaum into a Pro Bowler.
But it’s hard to deny the credibility of having especially a young offensive lineman like Spencer Fano working one-on-one with a first-ballot Hall of Famer at his own position in Joe Thomas. He’ll work with the Browns sporadically, but he’ll have to decide eventually if coaching is for him.