Newest Browns OC could be hot coaching candidate if he can make Cleveland's offense rock

Tommy Rees is climbing up the football coaching tree pretty quickly. The former Notre Dame quarterback never saw a snap in the NFL, but he's seen some great success on the sidelines; Rees has been named the Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator after joining the team as a passing game specialist and tight ends coach last season.

Before joining Cleveland, Rees was the offensive coordinator at his alma mater Notre Dame, and then Alabama.

Being the passing game specialist for a team that doesn't have anyone who can throw the ball probably wasn't that fun — but Rees was good enough to earn himself a promotion to OC, and if he can fix this Browns offense with (likely) a rookie behind center, he might quickly become a hot commodity as a coaching candidate.

Tommy Rees' ascention gives shades of Ben Johnson

A fellow NFL offensive coordinator had a similar path as Rees. Lions OC Ben Johnson was a college quarterback who made the transition over to coaching, starting at the college level before making his way onto NFL sidelines.

Johnson is one of the top targets right now for teams trying to fill a head coaching vacancy, and it's pretty obvious why; Johnson and the Lions offense is a well-oiled machine, leading the NFL with over 33 points per game.

Cleveland doesn't expect Rees to come in and start scoring like the Lions... but at just 32 years old, the franchise clearly has tons of confidence in Rees' football acumen, and if he can turn this struggling unit around, he might not last as just a coordinator for very long.

Cleveland ranked dead last in scoring in 2024, scoring 15.2 points per game, a number that's hard to fathom in the modern NFL. Rees certainly has his work cut out for him under head coach Kevin Stefanski, and his speed run up coaching ranks is a story to keep tabs on.