The Cleveland Browns took their first big step last week to reshape an offense that backfired woefully in 2024. The team promoted tight ends coach and pass game specialist Tommy Rees to offensive coordinator, replacing Ken Dorsey, who was fired after one season.

Cleveland interviewed five known candidates but ultimately stayed in-house, tapping the 32-year-old Rees to work with head coach Kevin Stefanski and revamp a scheme that was built last offseason around quarterback Deshaun Watson but never took off. Watson posted the lowest Total QBR in the NFL before tearing his right Achilles tendon in Week 7. Cleveland's offense shuffled through four quarterbacks during the season and ranked 28th in total offense and 32nd in scoring. The expectation is that the Browns will return to the scheme that Stefanski operated in his first four seasons in Cleveland -- a variation of the West Coast offense -- as opposed to the spread, RPO-based scheme he hired Dorsey to help build.