The Cleveland Browns opted to clean house on the offensive side of the ball following their loss to the Houston Texans in th AFC Wild Card Playoffs.
That included head coach Kevin Stefanski firing offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, running backs coach Stump Mitchell and tight ends coach T.C. McCartney.
Despite winning 11 games this past season and finishing in the top-10 in scoring, Stefanski figured it made sense to change up the coaching staff.
We now have more on this courtesy of Zac Jackson of The Athletic. Cleveland is reportedly set to add former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Tommy Rees to the staff as tight ends coach and with a role constructing the team’s passing game.
This seems to come somewhat out of left field. Rees, 31, spent just one season as the Alabama offensive coordinator. Once Nick Saban retired, he was out of a job.
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Tommy Rees role with the Cleveland Browns
He won’t technically be considered passing-game coordinator. But Rees should play a role in that regards as Stefanski fills out his offensive coaching staff.
Prior to joining Alabama this past season, Rees spent six seasons with Notre Dame. The former Irish quarterback coached that position from 2017-19 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2020. He had previously served as an offensive assistant for the then-San Diego Chargers and as a graduate assistant at Northwestern.
Rees was seen as a candidate to replace Saban as the Crimson Tide head coach before they opted to hire former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer for that role.