Browns coach: New OC Tommy Rees has 'incredible football mind'

The Cleveland Browns promoted Tommy Rees from tight ends coach/pass game specialist to offensive coordinator on Wednesday.

"Tommy has an incredible football mind," Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "He is extremely bright and has been around the game his entire life.

"Before joining our staff, he established himself as one of the top assistant coaches in college football.

"Last season, he transitioned into our tight end room and with our pass game, and he didn't miss a beat. Due to injuries, there was a lot of uncertainty at tight end, but Tommy did a phenomenal job with that group and always had his players ready for gameday, despite, in some cases, only being with the team for a short period of time."

Rees, 32, replaces Ken Dorsey, who was fired on Jan. 5 after the team finished last in points scored (258) during a 3-14 season.

The Browns' offense, hampered by rotating quarterbacks and another season-ending injury to running back Nick Chubb, mustered only an NFL-low 15.2 points per game.

"Innovation is such a critical element to the offensive game-planning process, and Tommy brings that," Stefanski said. "Our intent is to build a sound and explosive offense that will put points on the board, and I'm looking forward to working with Tommy to re-shape the Browns offense in 2025."

Cleveland holds the second overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Dorsey replaced Alex Van Pelt, who was let go within days of the Browns getting routed 45-14 by the Houston Texans in the wild-card round of the playoffs on Jan. 13, 2024. The Van Pelt offense ranked 10th in the NFL in points per game (23.3).

Rees previously served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame from 2020-22 and the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama under Nick Saban in 2023.

--Field Level Media