Rumor: Browns could lose new hire following wild coaching shuffle

After making several moves with their offensive coaching staff, the Cleveland Browns thought they were nearly set. Now, there could wind up being another vacancy for them thanks to some unexpected events in the NCAA ranks. With a head coaching gig at UCLA opening up, there are now rumors that Tommy Rees, who was recently hired as the tight ends coach in Cleveland, could be heading to Pasadena to become the head coach of the Bruins.

Rees, who was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Alabama in 2023, was born in Los Angeles and has ties to the team that include his father working for the program and his older brother playing there as well.

As for how the opening came to be, Jared Mueller of Dawgs by Nature looked into the rumors and summarized the coaching carousel that led to the open spot at UCLA:

• Boston College HC Jeff Hafley accepted the Green Bay Packers DC job
• Bill O’Brien, hired by The Ohio State University as OC this offseason, accepted the Boston College head coaching position
• UCLA HC Chip Kelly accepted the job to replace O’Brien at Ohio State

All three of those moves were unexpected — but then again, it was also interesting to see Rees take the job with the Browns after serving as the OC in Alabama. His hire felt like a huge win for Cleveland and while it would be tough to see him leave, it would be understandable for him to take the opportunity if allowed.

At just 31 years of age, Rees has quickly risen through the coaching ranks. Even if he doesn't land the job with the Bruins, it won't be long before he's being offered more high-profile jobs.

Cleveland is still without a quarterbacks coach although they do have Ken Dorsey on staff as the offensive coordinator. He held this title in Buffalo before the Bills promoted him to offensive coordinator and Alex Van Pelt, who was the OC in Cleveland for the past four years, handle those duties as well.

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