The Cleveland Browns departed with Ken Dorsey after their horrible 2024 season ended. This opened the door for a new, innovative offensive coordinator to make themselves available to the team with the chance of transforming not just the team's offense, but whichever quarterback the team brought on as their new QB1 to begin 2025.
With the internal hiring of Tommy Rees as the new offensive coordinator, though, it seemed like the Browns were simply going to turn around and go back to head coach Kevin Stefanski's old system on offense and allow him to call plays again. But, there was always a shot that Rees would have some more runway considering he was, after all, a Stefanski hire.
However, given Thursday's announcement from Stefanski, it became clear that the speculation about him reclaiming play calling duties was not speculation at all.
Stefanski set to take over play calling in 2025 once again
Stefanski told reporters on Thursday that he'll be returning to his old style of play calling for 2025, taking back what he had relinquished to Dorsey midway through the 2024 season when it seemed the team needed a spark or something different to get their team going.
"I'm going to call plays, and I reserve the right to change my mind," were Stefanski's words on the matter.
Read more: 3 tight ends that need to be on Browns radar in 2025 NFL Draft
Rees also told reporters on Thursday that he doesn't mind relinquishing that aspect of the job to Stefanski, saying, "Look, there's so much work that gets done on the front end of things. Play-calling is just part of the process. We're excited to get to work together and making sure that we have a good product on the field."
Prior to 2024 and in each of Stefanski's previous years as the team's head coach, he helped lead the team to being top 10 in rush attempts, according to NFL.com's reporting. In 2024, the team was at the bottom of the league at 28th.
With Stefanski taking the play calling reigns back, the Browns are expected to show off more of their run game with a better coached offensive line, and likely a quarterback capable of deep throws and working from the pocket. This opens the door for the Browns to pursue veteran quarterbacks with quick processing but less mobility, and rookies that have big arms but need refinement.
Rees and Stefanski are set to work together to identify the best available quarterback for them in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, where two worth taking at number two overall might actually land directly in their laps.