Why Kevin Stefanski might have to take over Cleveland Browns play calling again

While the Cleveland Browns are coming off of a fun victory against the Las Vegas Raiders, their season is completely sunk at 3-8.

Coming out of the team’s bye week, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski handed play calling duties off to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. While Rees has done an alright job, Stefanski might already have to take over play calling duties once again.

That’s because three different Vegas-based sportsbooks have Rees as the betting favorite to be named the next head coach of the UCLA Bruins.

Rees, a former Notre Dame quarterback, was promoted to offensive coordinator of the Browns this offseason when the team parted ways with Ken Dorsey. He had previously been serving as Cleveland’s tight ends coach and passing game coordinator.

UCLA fired head coach DeShaun Foster back in September, giving them a head-start on this coaching cycle. Rees has experience in college football, serving as the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame and Alabama before joining the Browns.

While Rees has made improvements as the play caller in Cleveland, the results are widely unchanged as the Browns have the worst offense in the NFL in almost every major metric.

Rees did a nice job making rookie fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders comfortable in his first NFL start against the Raiders. Sanders was 11-of-20 for 209 yards, one touchdown and one interception. However, the Browns played with the lead the entire evening and Rees’ creativity broke out the wildcat offense with standout rookie running back Quinshon Judkins.

If Rees leaves the Browns before the end of the season, it would be tough to blame him.

Stefanski’s job security is up in the air. Despite a vote of confidence from Browns owner Jimmy Haslam after Cleveland’s win against the Miami Dolphins, Stefanski’s team has been one of the worst in football over the last two seasons. Not many coaches survive that, especially considering how inept the Browns have looked offensively.

Not to mention, it would be quite the jump for Rees, who was still an NFL position coach just a few months ago.

In the event that Rees departs, Stefanski would be left to call his offense. Earlier this week, he named Sanders as the team’s starting quarterback. However, Stefanski refused to answer if that was a week-to-week decision or something more permanent.

Rookie third-round quarterback Dillon Gabriel struggled tremendously in his first five starts. While he took care of the football, his physical limitations had the former Oregon quarterback completely overmatched in every start, leading to a concussion that allowed Sanders to supplant him.

Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta already left the Browns after nearly 10 seasons to run the Colorado Rockies. If Rees leaves as well, it could signal sweeping changes looming at the end of yet another failed season in Cleveland.