Young offensive coordinator Tommy Rees leaves the Cleveland Browns to reunite with recently fired head coach Kevin Stefanski in Atlanta
No matter what happens with the Cleveland Browns search for a new head coach, they will have a new play-caller in 2026.
Young offensive coordinator Tommy Rees is officially leaving the organization to join former head coach Kevin Stefanski in his new post as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. The move is of little surprise.
From the moment Stefanski accepted the Falcons' job over the weekend, numerous reports indicated that Rees was likely going to be joining his former boss, especially after he didn't receive a second interview by the Browns for their head coach vacancy.
Rees had an initial interview with the Browns a few weeks back to replace Stefanski. He was one of two internal candidates the team interviewed for the job, the other being veteran defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
Schwartz had an in-person interview with the team on Monday, his second of the team's search. He's one of five candidates expected to have second interviews with the team over the next week or so.
The Browns are known to have thought very highly of Rees, who is considered a rising star in the coaching ranks at both the college level and the NFL. Rees joined the Browns staff in 2024 as a tight end coach, coming to Cleveland from Alabama where he served as offensive coordinator for one year under Nick Saban, whose retirement paved the way for Rees to make the leap to the NFL.
Last offseason Rees interviewed for and was named the Browns OC, after Ken Dorsey was fired from the role. The 2025 season began with Kevin Stefanski calling the plays and Rees providing a supporting role in building the gameplan each week.
With the team struggling at 2-6 on the season, Stefanski opted for passing off the play-calling to Rees heading out of the team's bye week in Week 9. The team went from averaging 15.7 points per game when Stefanski was calling plays, to averaging 17 points per game with Rees.
Rees is the first former member of Stefanski's staff here in Cleveland to follow him, but is unlikely to be the last.
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