For the Browns, a 2-6 start and an offense that currently weighs in at 30th in points scored (126) and 31st in yardage (2,108) leaves the impression of a team eager for a reboot. And while it is impossible to say whether changing the play-calling duties, from head coach Kevin Stefanski to new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, will have any material impact on the team’s production, it’s safe to say things can’t get much worse.
Rees will be calling plays in the NFL for the first time. He’d held the role of offensive coordinator and play-caller twice before in the college ranks, at Notre Dame under Brian Kelly and for a year at Alabama under Nick Saban.
Now, as Stefanski first suggested before the Browns went into the Week 9 bye, Rees is prepared for the job for the first time in the NFL.
Tommy Rees Not Thinking Big-Picture
Rees, who is only 33, is not entirely new with the Browns, as he was the team’s tight ends coach last season, when Ken Dorsey was the play-caller and offensive coordinator. Much like last year, Stefanski began the season as the play-caller but handed the duties off after Week 7. Dorsey was fired after one year on the job.
Rees said he is not thinking about the job in the big-picture sense–he’s not trying to put his “stamp” on the offense.
“Excited about the opportunity, certainly, but try not to think of it in those terms,” Rees said. “Like we have a job to do – as a staff, myself, players included, like, focused really on having a great week of preparation, making sure that we’re putting our best foot forward, using the bye week to improve some areas where we really need to improve on, and ultimately then, call a good game on Sunday.”
Browns Passing Game Needs a Boost
Rees said that he understands that the Browns need to bolster the passing game sooner rather than later. That’s a challenge, though, with rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel struggling to get his feet wet in the NFL.
Much like Stefanski, Rees insists it’s an 11-man job.
“We got to put the receivers in the right spots, we got to ask them to do the right things, we got to make sure that we’re giving them the looks during the week,” Rees said. “You know, certainly they did some things there to take some looks away but getting him to progress and feel confident in those things. And again, all that work is done throughout the week, and then when a team’s doing something that’s gonna take it away, you got to have counters and answers for that.”
Tommy Rees Joined Browns to Work With Stefanski
Rees made clear that the reason he is in Cleveland at all is because of Stefanski, and he does not intend to undermine the head coach in any way. He also was asked why the play-calling change came now and pointed to the fact that the bye week was here, and the record is just 2-6.
“Certainly, we want to play better. I’ll say this, like, I came to Cleveland to work for Kevin. That’s really the reason I took this job two years ago,” Rees said. “Like, think the world of him, still think the world of him. Really, like, fortunate for the support he’s given me over the last week, the support he’s had for me over the last couple of years. I wanted to come to Cleveland to work for Kevin.
“You know, I think the timing of it, you have a bye week, you have some time to step away and look at things through a different perspective and want to create a spark for the offense.”
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