clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Browns hire Sam Shade as assistant special teams coach

And there’s a slight connection to Amos Jones too.

By Chris Pokorny
Sam Shade on the bench
Strong safety Sam Shade #29 of the Washington Redskins sits on the bench during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 10, 2002 at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

A few weeks ago, the Cleveland Browns saw the departure of special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, who headed to Chicago. The team also disposed of their former assistant special teams coordinator, Shawn Mennenga, who appears to have been hired as Vanderbilt’s new special teams coordinator.

Amos Jones was hired as the Browns’ new special teams coordinator, and now we know who his assistant will be: Sam Shade. Shade, a defensive back in his playing days, was a cornerbacks coach for Georgia State in 2017. From 2009-2016, he was at Samford, where he was a secondary coach before being promoted to special teams and defensive pass game coordinator in 2014. That means this is his first stint as an NFL-level coach.

There is a slight connection between Shade and Jones, if you go way back. Jones was Alabama’s special teams coordinator from 1990-1991. Shade played for Alabama from 1991-1994, overlapping one season with Jones.

More From Dawgs By Nature