The Cleveland Browns fired head coach Kevin Stefanski less than two weeks ago and could end up losing both coordinators in the aftermath.
There is a better chance that defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz ends up the Browns head coach than somewhere else in the league. He has already met with the Baltimore Ravens about their open HC position but has also scheduled a second interview with Cleveland, which means he’s a serious candidate for the job.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, however, will not get a second interview after meeting with Browns brass about the HC gig once. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported on Saturday, January 17 that Rees could end up departing the organization altogether and joining Stefanski wherever he lands next.
“Hearing that #Browns OC Tommy Rees might have a chance to join Kevin Stefanski wherever he goes,” Cabot posted to X. “Stefanski is getting a 2nd interview today with the #Falcons.”
Stefanski has interviewed with several NFL teams currently trying to fill their vacant head coaching positions, including the Ravens. However, Atlanta is the first franchise to schedule a second meeting with the former Browns coach.
Tommy Rees Has Spent Just 1 Season as Browns Offensive Coordinator
GettyCleveland Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
Stefanski hired Rees ahead of the 2024 campaign to coach the tight ends and serve as the pass game specialist. Rees, 33, moved into the role of offensive coordinator last season.
A four-year starting quarterback for Notre Dame (2010-13), Rees got into coaching as a graduate assistant at Northwestern in 2015 before the Los Angeles Chargers (then of San Diego) hired him as an offensive assistant in 2016.
Rees then coached the quarterbacks at Notre Dame for the next three years before becoming the QB coach/offensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish over the following three seasons. He spent one year as OC at Alabama in 2023 before joining Stefanski in Cleveland.
Tommy Rees Most Likely Out in Cleveland if Browns Don’t Hire Jim Schwartz as Head Coach
GettyCleveland Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
Rees’s resumé and age profile like a future head coaching candidate, though maybe one that remains shy a couple more seasons of quality production as an offensive coordinator before he gets an opportunity to move into the top sideline role.
Cleveland’s offense was abysmal last season, finishing 30th in the league just behind the New York Jets. That said, the offensive line was a mess, there was no true No. 1 wide receiver and the Browns started three different quarterbacks, including two mid-round rookies.
Atlanta faces some questions at QB, as former top-10 pick Michael Penix Jr. enters his third season and an aging Kirk Cousins heads into the third year of a $180 million contract.
However, the Falcons have arguably the best running back in the league in Bijan Robinson and a high-level WR1 in Drake London already on the roster, so the building blocks of something special appear already there.
Stefanski’s history as an offensive coach and a two-time NFL Coach of the Year in Cleveland make him a viable candidate for the Falcons job after John Harbaugh chose the New York Giants. There is no reason Stefanski shouldn’t still believe in Rees after struggling for one season with a bad roster for which Stefanski was, in part, responsible.
If Schwartz gets the HC job in Cleveland, Rees might stay on. But if the team hires a young offensive-minded coach like Mike McDaniel or Grant Udinski, Rees will probably be out as OC anyway, so joining Stefanski if he is hired in Atlanta makes sense all around.
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