Cleveland Browns OC Tommy Rees
has already had quite the football journey. A three-star recruit, Rees signed up to join the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he played in nine games as a freshman in 2010. An excellent 2011 season had Rees on the cusp of something special before he was benched the following year. His senior season was a bounce-back one, throwing for over 3,200 yards and 27 touchdowns.Undrafted free agency and a seven-day stint on Washington’s roster ended his playing career.
When the
Browns hired Rees as their tight ends coach in 2024, his coaching experience was already vast and impressive for such a young guy:
- A year at Northwestern
- A year with the San Diego Chargers
- 6 years at Notre Dame, first as their QB coach, then as offensive coordinator
- A year with the Alabama Crimson Tide as Nick Saban’s OC
After one year in Cleveland, Rees was the first coach interviewed for the open offensive coordinator position before getting the job. That wasn’t the only job Rees interviewed for last offseason, as the former college star was the runner-up to Bill Belichick for the UNC head coaching position.
UNC was the second time Rees was connected to a college job, as UCLA was reportedly looking at the Browns coach during the 2024 offseason as well.
Now comes word that Rees recently interviewed with Penn State for their head job as well:
The timing with college football is always a few months off from the NFL season, making these interviews slightly problematic. While Rees is supposed to be focused on finishing off the 2025 NFL season in Cleveland, he’s also preparing for and taking an interview with the Nittany Lions.
Given his fast track so far, it seems it is only a matter of time before the 33-year-old Rees is a head coach somewhere. So far, that looks like it will be on the college level, but he’s also been noted as a young coach to watch for future HC jobs in the NFL as well.
