Browns assistant praises Tommy Rees ahead of NFL play calling debut

It didn't take very long for Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees to start getting quite the reputation as one of the top offensive minds in the NFL.

Browns offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren spoke very highly of Rees after head coach Kevin Stefanski handed the play-calling duties to Rees for the rest of the season. Bloomgren made sure everyone knows that they have someone special calling the plays for the Browns in the second half of the season.

"Tommy [Rees] is going to be pissed I said this, but he's a football savant."

"Tommy [Rees] is going to be pissed I said this, but he's a football savant."

- Browns OL Coach Mike Bloomgren
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 7, 2025

Most people recognize Rees as the former starting quarterback of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish back in his playing days in the mid-2010s. He has been able to build a coaching career very quickly, which began in 2015 as a graduate assistant for Northwestern.

Prior to joining the Browns, Rees served as the offensive coordinator for Notre Dame and Alabama, and then held the positions of pass game specialist & tight ends coach with the Browns last year. He moved up quickly to become the offensive coordinator this season for the first time on the NFL level.

Stefanski has had the keys to the offense as long as he has been the head coach, but the offseason has struggled mightily with his play-calling. The Browns are currently ranked 31st in total offense with 263.5 yards per game.

They are also the fourth-worst scoring offense in the offense, averaging 15.8 points per game. Only once this year has the offense scored more than 20 points in a game after scoring 31 in the win over the Miami Dolphins.

There are some bright spots to the offense, highlighted by rookie second-round pick running back Quinshon Judkins, who is tied for eighth in the NFL in rushing touchdowns with five and has rushed for 486 yards. Their leading receiver is rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr., catching 38 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns.

The biggest thing Rees will have to focus on the rest of the season is getting his rookie quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, in a rhythm early in games to build some confidence. If Gabriel continues losing, the Browns might have to turn to the other rookie, Shedeur Sanders, to see if he could be the future franchise quarterback of the team.

This could be seen as an audition for Rees to determine if he can be the full-time offensive coordinator, as the Browns will have some personnel decisions to make in the offseason to get the team back on track.