For the second year in a row, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is giving up play-calling to his offensive coordinator.
Coming out of the bye, Stefanski announced in his Monday press conference that Tommy Rees will take over offensive play-calling moving forward.
“These are things that I’m always looking at — what can we do better,” Stefanski said of his decision, via Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald. “I have a ton of trust and faith in Tommy. He’s more than capable, so excited for him. But, bottom line is, we have to just get better collectively — so that’s offense, that’s defense, that’s special teams, that’s players, that’s coaching. So, that’s our charge and that’s what we’re working hard to do.”
Stefanski said the bye week allowed him to look at things, and he felt like Rees gives the offense a good chance to improve.
“I just felt like it was the right time for this,” Stefanski said. “It’s never about one person, whether you talk about a player or a coach. But, obviously, I think Tommy’s going to be himself and that’s what I’m asking him to do. I’ll be there every step of the way to help him in any way I can — like you should with any play-caller. But, bottom line is, he understands what we need to do, which is stay on the field and score some points.”
The quarterback will remain the same, so rookie Dillon Gabriel is set to make his fifth start when the Browns play the Jets on Sunday.
Stefanski had been Cleveland’s offensive play-caller since he was hired in 2020 until he gave that role up to former offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey midway through the 2024 season. Stefanski took the role back for 2025 after promoting Rees to OC during the offseason.
Rees, 33, played quarterback at Notre Dame before getting into coaching. He was the QBs coach and offensive coordinator for his Alma Mater before serving as OC and QBs coach under Nick Saban at Alabama in 2023. He joined the Browns’ staff in 2024 as a pass game specialist and tight ends coach.
