This 2025 Cleveland Browns season has had a heads-are-gonna-roll type of feel to it, which is commonplace in the NFL for a team battling through a now 6-24 funk.
The Browns have a head coach in Kevin Stefanski who is widely respected throughout the league. But fans are ready for a fresh start with the team now officially eliminated from playoff contention for the fourth time in Stefanski’s six seasons.
It's felt like things are heading in that direction, with the Browns’ offense struggling behind an aging offensive line and a glaring lack of talent at the skill positions. Cleveland’s leaning heavily on rookies to move the football, including handing the keys to fifth-round rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
But even after Sunday’s brutal, 31-29 loss at home to the Tennessee Titans — a game that featured yet another head-scratching Stefanski decision — those reporting on the team don’t seem to be expecting heavy changes this offseason.
Just the opposite, actually.
Report on Browns’ hope to retain offensive coordinator Tommy Rees in 2026 screams at something much bigger
ESPN’s Adam Schefter dropped a “bombshell” report on Deshaun Watson on Saturday night, but it was a lot of vague information that Browns fans already expected. Cutting Watson this offseason would be a lot more palatable if it wouldn’t cost the team about $132 million in dead salary-cap charges, per Spotrac.
The more substantial news came on Sunday morning from Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot, who reported that retaining offensive coordinator Tommy Rees is a priority for the team in 2026. Rees could be a coveted coach at the college ranks during the upcoming hiring cycle, after narrowly missing out on the North Carolina job last year, and also garnering interest from Penn State.
“The Browns will make every effort to keep offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who interviewed for the Penn State head coaching job, a league source told cleveland.com. Furthermore, it’s Rees’ preference to remain with the Browns, a source said, even though he’ll likely get more opportunities in the coming weeks and months.”
The #Browns will make every effort to keep OC Tommy Rees, who interviewed for the Penn State job that went to Matt Campbell, source tells me. The Browns don't want to let Rees out of the building, and his preference is to stay: ---> https://t.co/GQSy1C00cM
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) December 7, 2025
Now this feels like a major report. If the current offensive coordinator is expected to return — shouldn't Browns fans expect the same for this entire regime?
When teams make wholesale changes, like firing the head coach and general manager, the majority of the staff tends to leave with them. It’s not like the Browns are going to fire Stefanski, and hire the next head coach with some sort of caveat that Rees has to stay on in some capacity.
As Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated mused this week, the Browns appear set to give Stefanski and Berry another year, with a chance to keep building off their wildly productive 2025 draft class and finally transition away from their quarterback saga with Watson, a blunder that falls as much on ownership as it does the team’s executives and coaches.
This is definitely not the news that Browns fans want to hear, but Cabot’s report on Rees hints at something bigger — and that's more of the status quo with Stefanski, Berry, Rees, and Watson in 2026.