In case you missed it, the Atlanta Falcons hired ex-Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski for the team’s vacant head coaching role.
Stefanski is a two-time NFL Coach of the Year who led the Browns to an improbable playoff run in 2020. He is an offensive guru whose skills were tested in Cleveland by the frequent quarterback changes and the blockbuster and unsuccessful Deshaun Watson trade.
The fact that Stefanski got a head coaching job so quickly after being fired by the Browns on Black Monday was not a surprise. The only wrinkle in the plan was the somewhat surprising Jim Harbaugh firing by the Baltimore Ravens that gave the Super Bowl Champion Harbaugh the top pick in the vacant jobs. With Harbaugh signed by the Giants, Stefanski was going to get hired immediately thereafter.
Stefanski was reportedly hired by owner Arthur Blank and new president Matt Ryan (a Philadelphia native like Stefanski) after a steak dinner at Blank’s house.
Browns legend and NFL Hall of Famer Joe Thomas’s revelation about that steak dinner is what gave Browns fans pause.
What Joe Thomas Said
Thomas admitted that he was present at the steak dinner because potential assistants were also in Stefanski’s company.
I can confirm this was @halloffamebeef because I was down there as part of the possible assistants on that staff. It was the best steak of my life!!🤤😋🥩🍺 https://t.co/U445fA6C0o
— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) January 18, 2026
I must have been just off the photo to the left- that’s me picking up the dishes https://t.co/juBMWPIosG
— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) January 18, 2026
He even provided an explanation of why he was not in a picture taken at the dinner.
This is a surprising revelation because Thomas turned down Browns broadcasting and radio opportunities in recent years to be at home more with his wife and young children.
Thomas’s presence at the dinner implies that a mindset change may be in the works for Thomas if he is entertaining a coaching position on Stefanski’s staff. Joe Thomas and Kevin Stefanski have informally worked together for years as Stefanski has invited Thomas to Browns’ practices to work with the offensive line.
Could Joe Thomas be the next offensive line coach for the Atlanta Falcons?
That is an interesting proposition that should excite Falcons fans and give Browns fans more heartache since many hoped if he ever joined the coaching ranks, it would be in Cleveland.
Update: Thomas Later Walked Back Comments, Admitting It Was A Joke
Joe Thomas must not have anticipated the outcry, and fans did not realize that he was joking.
He took to social media to clarify that he is not in line to work for Stefanski and the Falcons.
2 truths and a lie! I most definitely will not be coaching next year anything but the fighting cardinals 4th grade flag football team up in Wisconsin 🔥🔥
— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) January 18, 2026
