Cleveland officially announced the franchise’s decision to promote pass game coordinator and tight ends coach Tommy Rees to the offensive coordinator position on Thursday.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski hired his third offensive coordinator in as many years, ending the one-year tenure that Ken Dorsey had on the staff.
Analysts have speculated that Dorsey’s hiring last year was not Stefanski’s idea, suggesting that the veteran head coach was forced into an arranged marriage as the team attempted to revive quarterback Deshaun Watson’s career.
The Browns will be forced to move on from Watson this year after he ruptured – and subsequently reinjured – his Achilles tendon, keeping him on the sideline for most of the upcoming season.
Adding Rees as the offensive coordinator allows Stefanski to work with an up-and-coming coach early in his career, a move that analyst Emmett Golden believes was made strictly by the head coach.
“I can guarantee you nobody made Kevin Stefanski hire Tommy Rees. It feels like a Kevin Stefanski hire, and this makes me feel like this offense will be balanced and much better than it was last year for sure. And we might see the best version of the Kevin Stefanski offense coming up next year,” Golden said.
It feels like Kevin made this decision to hire Reese. pic.twitter.com/4Goz6AlEgf
— Emmett Golden (@egoldie80) January 23, 2025
In the same press conference, Stefanski announced he would call the offensive plays in 2025.
Stefanski’s announcement squashed a conversation analysts had multiple times throughout last year with Dorsey implementing an offense different than the head coach’s run-oriented attack.
The 32-year-old Rees has previously served as a coordinator in college, working at both Notre Dame and Alabama in that capacity before joining the Browns’ staff.
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