Tommy Rees is set to follow Kevin Stefanski from Cleveland to Atlanta. The Falcons are expected to hire Rees as their offensive coordinator, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. The deal isn’t official, but Rees has accepted the job, according to Albert Breer of SI.com.
This was the likely outcome when the Falcons hired Stefanski, previously the Browns’ head coach, on Saturday. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reported then that the 33-year-old Rees was a candidate to rejoin Stefanski in Atlanta. The pair developed a strong working relationship in their two years together in Cleveland.
Rees interviewed to take over for Stefanski, but this move slams the door on that possibility. It’s obvious Cleveland will select a different head coaching candidate instead.
Formerly a Notre Dame quarterback, Rees got his start as a coach as a graduate assistant with Northwestern in 2015. He later returned to his alma mater to serve as Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach from 2020-22.
Rees worked in the same roles at Alabama in 2023, the last season of head coach Nick Saban‘s remarkable career. He oversaw a breakout campaign from then-sophomore quarterback Jalen Milroe, who’s now a backup with the Seahawks, and then left for the NFL.
After his only year on Saban’s staff, Rees joined the Browns as their tight ends coach and pass game specialist in 2024. Stefanski promoted Rees to offensive coordinator after firing Ken Dorsey last January, but the head coach opened 2025 as the Browns’ play caller. That changed when Stefanski handed the keys to Rees before a Week 10 loss to the Jets. It’s not known yet if they’ll continue with that arrangement in Atlanta.
The Browns’ offense ended the year a horrid 30th in yards and 31st in scoring, but the unit wasn’t exactly teeming with weapons. Although neither Stefanski nor Rees found an answer at quarterback among Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, that wasn’t a major surprise.
The 41-year-old Flacco was brought in as a stopgap, and the Browns wound up trading him to the Bengals in early October. Gabriel, a third-round rookie, struggled mightily before suffering a concussion in Rees’ second game as a play caller. Sanders, a fifth-round rookie, held the reins for the rest of the year. While Sanders performed better than Gabriel, he’s hardly a slam dunk to establish himself as the Browns’ solution under center.
The Falcons have a far more talented offense than the Browns (running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London are among the game’s best at their positions), but QB is also a concern in Atlanta. After the 2023 season, former general manager Terry Fontenot made a mammoth free agent investment in Kirk Cousins and then surprisingly used the eighth overall pick on Michael Penix Jr. a little over a month later. Those two remain in place for now, but they’ve offered lackluster production for the Falcons.
Despite inking a four-year, $180MM contract, Cousins didn’t play well enough in his first Falcons season to keep the starting job. Then-head coach Raheem Morris benched Cousins for Penix in Week 16. Penix stuck as the Falcons’ starter this season until he went down with a partially torn ACL in Week 11. That continued a long history of serious injuries dating back to a college career divided between Indiana and Washington.
In the wake of his latest injury, it’s unknown if Penix will be healthy enough to start Week 1 in 2026. That’s assuming the Falcons’ new regime – president of football Matt Ryan, a to-be-determined general manager and Stefanski – decide to go forward with Penix as the No. 1 option. They’re likely to release Cousins either way.
Along with questions at the game’s most important position, the Falcons’ offense is facing uncertainty at tight end. Kyle Pitts is due to become a free agent on the heels of a second-team All-Pro campaign. After successfully working with tight ends David Njoku and Harold Fannin in Cleveland, Stefanski and Rees may prefer to keep Pitts in the fold.
With Robinson, London and Pitts posting terrific numbers, the Falcons finished a slightly above-average 14th in total offense under coordinator Zac Robinson in 2025. Only eight teams amassed fewer points, though, and Stefanski and Rees will aim for better results next season.
Who is calling plays?
Sorry @ATLSentinel