The divorce hasn’t yet been finalized, but it’s become painfully obvious that head coach Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns will part ways in some fashion following Sunday’s season finale in Cincinnati.
Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot reported this week that it would take an 11th-hour resolution at this point for Stefanski to get another year in Cleveland. General manager Andrew Berry, however, is safe, Cabot said, which only adds to an already complicated situation.
The Browns remain high on their two main coordinators entering Week 18: Tommy Rees on offense, and Jim Schwartz on defense. Schwartz’s name has come up often as a potential replacement for Stefanski, given the success of Cleveland’s defense since his arrival in 2023, and his prior experience as head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009-13.
Schwartz will turn 60 in June, though, and he may not be the preferred choice to lead the team’s looming succession plan from Deshaun Watson at quarterback. Schwartz got a glowing endorsement from Myles Garrett last week, but the bulk of the Browns’ issues fall on the offensive side of the ball, leaving Rees as a potential wild-card candidate if Cleveland opts to promote from within its current staff.
Tommy Rees could be the Browns HC frontrunner that no one expects
If the Browns do indeed fire Stefanski, and embark on a legitimate head coaching search this month, they’ll risk losing the one coach they desperately want to keep in the building.
Cabot reported in early December that the Browns “will make every effort to keep offensive coordinator Tommy Rees” after he interviewed for Penn State’s head coach opening and was also a finalist for the North Carolina job last year.
With Stefanski reportedly now all but out, Rees’ best chance to stay in Cleveland might be to throw his hat in the ring for head coach. It might sound crazy to Browns fans, especially given how the offense performed in 2025 in his first year as an OC and play-caller, but at a time when young, ascending, offensive-minded coaches are finding success, it would be foolish to rule the 33-year-old Rees out as a legitimate candidate.
Based on the team’s belief in the young coach, Cabot believes a promotion is possible for Rees.
“So if (the Browns and Kevin Stefanski) decide to mutually agree to part ways, would the Browns consider promoting young 33-year-old Tommy Rees to head coach? I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility,” Cabot suggested. “I think that if they like what they see with Shedeur Sanders, they like the development that he’s made and the progress that he has made, maybe they will want to continue on with Tommy.”
The fanbase would definitely be more comfortable with Schwartz getting the nod, but again, this team isn’t going anywhere until it can fix the offense. Rees has helped develop a group of young, Day 2 draft picks into key producers, like quarterback Shedeur Sanders, running back Quinson Judkins, and tight end Harold Fannin Jr.
It would take a major leap of faith, but if anyone has the inside track to Cleveland’s upcoming opening, it’s Rees, given his age and demand as an up-and-coming coach.