3 Browns on Thin Ice With Tommy Rees as Offensive Coordinator
By Cem Yolbulan
Kevin Stefanski
Admittedly, this may be cheating as part of this exercise. At the same time, hiring Tommy Rees does put head coach Kevin Stefanski at risk for the 2025 season.
In the 2024 offseason, the Browns hired Ken Dorsey as the offensive coordinator, but Stefanski retained playcalling duties. After the offense looked completely out of sorts in the first half of the season, Dorsey took over as the play-caller. Things didn't improve as the Browns continued to have one of the worst offensive units in the league.
Immediately after the season, the Browns fired Dorsey. Instead of bringing in an experienced, coveted offensive coordinator, the team opted for the internal promotion of Rees.
Rees will not only be one of the youngest coordinators in the league but will also be one of the least experienced ones in the NFL. He has a few years of offensive coordinator and QB coach experience at Notre Dame and Alabama but his NFL track record consists of one season as an offensive assistant with the Chargers in 2016 and last season as the tight ends coach in Cleveland.
Stefanski will take over the play-calling duties again to start the 2025 season. If the offense fails to take a significant step forward next season, he will be on the receiving end of a ton of criticism.
This will especially be true because there will not be Deshaun Watson to blame. Somewhat fortunately for Stefanski, the controversial signal-caller has been at the center of criticism in Cleveland for the past couple of years. Considering that he will not be the starter to begin the season after his injuries, Stefanski needs to show improvement with a new QB at the helm.
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